Twisted Fate
by Onagamail99
Summary: Robin gets a gift from the gods at the start of her journey with the Shepherds. But with great power comes greater troubles as Robin now has to contend with a foe greater than Grima. The RNG.
1. Chapter 1

A blue haired man charges forward while bellowing what Robin assumed was a battle cry and wildly began slashing at a lanky sorcerer. He was probably an entire foot taller than Chrom and looked like he hadn't lifted a weight since he was ten. Yet he was somehow able to dodge every slash of Chrom's blade like a ballerina, making it look like some sort of twisted dance number. Robin decided to end the nonsense with a steady blast of lightning lasers at the slender man.

He dodged her blast and Chrom stopped just short of it. The sorcerer was gone from the immediate vision, not helped by Robin wearing her hood. Still she managed to look up and found the sorcerer floating in midair despite the fact that she was sure that was cheating somehow. He held a large purple ball of dark magic above him which she'd also never seen anyone do before and threw it at Chrom whom was just as dumbfounded at this new set of circumstances as she was. Chrom managed to dodge and the Sorcerer landed, giving them a look that screamed "Bring it on." Well consider it brought.

Chrom and Robin stood about thirty feet from him now though neither were sure how the events led to that but that didn't matter much anymore. Chrom turned to her with a serious look on his face and grabbed her shoulder with his rough grip. "Alright, let's finish this Robin. Remember, you're a part of us no matter what some destiny says." He spoke with determination. Robin nodded simply and glared down the battlefield to the Sorcerer which was named Validar apparently. She didn't really need the rousing speech to want to punch that man in the face repeatedly however.

She joined forces with Chrom and the two of them charged down the distance to Validar, making sure to keep out of his spell's range. Despite moving around like crazy just recently, apparently that was just too much work to Validar now, so he planted himself right where he was and didn't move for the rest of the battle. Chrom drew the silver sword he seemed to have forgotten about just previously and with Robin's support, the two of them drew in to strike Validar down.

Despite all the trouble Chrom was having before just landing a hit on him before, the two of them had no trouble landing two solid hits while he missed like a bitch. Suffice it to say, Validar didn't last long.

Validar dropped to his knees, some sort of purple fire surrounding him as he damned them both to hell and tried one last sucker punch at Chrom. Thankfully, Robin was too fast for him and pushed Chrom out of the way and takes the hit instead. She dropped to the ground while Validar burned away or something. Chrom knelt beside Robin and helped her back to her feet.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked. He glanced back to where Validar was, a confident smirk appearing on his face. "Well that's the end of him." Robin grunted, holding her temple suddenly. She was used to her head hurting, but never quite like this. And the red vision was a little concerning as well. And why did Chrom's voice suddenly make her feel angrier than usual?

"Hey, are you okay?" Chrom asked. Look at that concern. That hope. Robin could feel magic surging to her hand although she wasn't sure if it was of her own accord or not. Certainly she thought of shoving an electrical stake into the chest of many of her allies in jest before, but today just felt right to actually do it.

Another pulse of pain shot through her and her eyes saw more red. Nothing appeared clear. Veins started to slowly take over her vision and her head started swimming. She couldn't stay upright. Chrom grabbed her and she lashed out without even thinking. "Just hold on. UGH!" He grunted. Robin felt like she just punched him in the chest but when she saw him step back there was a clear stake of electricity sticking out of his heart.

Chrom stumbled backwards, letting out some pained chokes. He looked up at her, his eyes filled with confusion and betrayal. Yet he spoke so sweetly to her. "This is not...your fault..." He struggled to speak, blood no doubt starting to pool up around his lungs. Robin could only stare at him with what she hoped was a horrified expression. She looked down at her hand, still tingling with electricity.

"Promise me..." Chrom continued suddenly. "Promise me you'll escape from this place..." She could still see the red. His voice still filled her with such annoyance where it once soothed her. "Please...go..." He begged her to leave before falling forward. He may have made more noises...she may have been sobbing...but she couldn't hear any of that. Just Validar's laughter echoing in her head.

…

"AHH!" A shrill scream pierced through a void of nothing yet echoing in Robin's ears ceaselessly. She took a moment, clutching her chest with her hand and trying to stop her feverish breathing. Making sure she was really where she was. Not in the dragon's table. No Validar, and most importantly, no dead Chrom. In fact, she couldn't see anything, and yet that still filled her with more serenity than that horrid dream.

"A dream..." She breathed, slowing her beating heart. "It was only a dream..."

"No it wasn't." All at once she could feel her world shatter as the old wispy voice spoke to her through the darkness. Her eyes opened wider, a swirling blue vortex opening up around her, swallowing her up without mercy. She felt herself falling, faster and faster as colors rushed past her eyes, threatening to split her head even more than it already was. And then she hit the ground. Well...ground wasn't quite right. It wasn't solid, nor was it nothing. She couldn't feel herself floating and yet she couldn't say she was standing.

An ancient looking man stood in front of her draped in brown robes. He had a shiny bald head and dark shadows covered his eyes. His wrinkled hands stroked his snowy beard and he snickered like a child who just pulled a prank. "Well well, you seem confused." He spoke in a tired voice.

"Very..." Robin spoke cautiously, uncertain where this man's eyes were. Yet somehow she felt the need to cover up a bit more and zipped her cloak up. "Where am I? Why am I here? Where's Chrom? And who are you?"

"Easy, easy." The old man said. He held his hands out towards her to calm her down a bit. "I'm an old man. I'm not about to hurt you. In fact, quite the opposite. I want nothing more than to help you Robin."

"How do you know my name?" Robin demanded while she reached for a sword that she no longer had. _He took my weapons?_ Robin pondered while she took a safety step back from the old man. She knew old men could be stronger than they looked very well.

"Easy." He repeated once again. He put his hands behind his back and started to pace around to Robin's backside. She was quick to catch him, turning with him to keep him in her sight. "Yes, you'll definitely do well. You don't know me, but I've been watching you quite closely. And if anyone is capable of saving this world, it's you. My name is Hubba. You may call me Master Hubba."

"How about Old Hubba?" Robin suggested, her arms crossed over her chest. "What a strange name anyways."

"No stranger than Robin." Hubba spoke with a sage like air to him. "To someone in some world, everyone's name would sound strange."

Robin perked a curious brow at him. "And what does that mean?" But Hubba refused to humor her question, laughing instead.

"Listen up kid, you're going to save this world. And I'm going to give you more than a fighting chance at that." He said. He pulled his hands from behind his back, now holding a black tome with a symbol she certainly didn't recognize. "This is called a Master Tome. Crafted from the divine Naga herself. It's yours now." The tome floated eerily into Robin's hands. She gave a curious frown, opening the book and turning the pages. Her lips pursed with intrigue. The book was filled with maps and people. Words that people spoke and all of it looked completely familiar.

"What is this?" She questioned Hubba, not tearing her eyes away from the tome. She could see a couple characters and maps that seemed completely new to her.

"Written within this book is information on all of your enemies, all of your allies, all of the battles you will take place in. While you may not see it yourself, your world is filled with probability. This book narrows it down for you and spells it out. Everything you'd ever need to know is in that book." Hubba explained like a child describing his favorite toy.

"So...it's like the script of the world?" Robin suggested.

"Your world, yes. You may find experiences a tad different here than you last remember. But that's not the best part. If you chant the inscription, then you can restart any battle you wish if things go sour for you." Hubba explained. "Which they will."

"What? How in the world does that work?" Robin asked, bemused at the old man. Hubba chuckles mysteriously and clasps his hands together.

"The gods work in mysterious ways." He said, quite pleased at keeping Robin in the dark.

"Gods...and I assume you're a god then?" She asked, finally closing the book and casting her gray eyes onto him.

"Heh, perhaps I am. It does have a nice ring to it." He said before waving his hand to her. "Questions for later. For now, it's time to meet Chrom." He then gave her a serious look, made all the more worse since she couldn't actually see his eyes. "Don't lose that book." He spoke gravely. Robin gasped, feeling herself falling again.

"Wait! I have so many questions!" Her screams fell on deaf ears however as she hit the ground. The actual ground and quickly passed out.

…

"Chrom...we have to do _something._ " Robin would have groaned, but that would require breath and all the wind seemed gone from her lungs at the moment.

" _Lissa?"_ She thought at the delicate voice speaking to her.

"Well what do you propose we do?" A much deeper, more commanding voice spoke. Robin could immediately feel her heart flutter. It couldn't be.

"Well...I don't know." Lissa replied to Chrom. Robin gathered as much strength as she could to force her eyes open, seeing the two figures standing over her. Especially the handsome visage of the prince. His short blue hair obscuring his face just a bit and his bright blue eyes widening in shock once he noticed Robin's eyes open.

Lissa's eyes lowered, relieved to find Robin was alive. She smiled delicately and Robin could feel a serenity wash over her. She wanted to cry. After so long of watching all of her comrades fall one by one around her, they were back.

"Well hello there." Chrom said with as serene a smile as Robin remembered during their first meeting. "There are better places to take a nap than in the middle of a field. Here, take my hand." He held his leather clad hand towards her and she grabbed it. He wrapped his fingers around her with a soft grip as he pulled her up and into his body.

Robin can feel the blood rushing to her cheeks immediately as their eyes locked for a moment. Chrom held her gaze, the smile never leaving his face until a strict man nearby cleared his throat. Robin pulled away from the prince, taking a deep breath. She had to remember where she was. To them, she wasn't anything but some strange beggar.

"That's quite enough of that." Said a man in pale blue armor. He had a long, serious face and was currently giving Robin a cautious glare.

"Peace Fredrick the Wary. What is your name, friend?" Chrom asked, making Fredrick sniff half way between offense and pride. Robin opened her mouth to introduce herself, but quickly remembered that she's not supposed to know who she was yet. Not wanting to go off script too much just yet, she decided to play along.

"I'm uh...I don't recall." Robin said sheepishly. She shrunk away from Fredrick, playing up the scared amnesiac role she was supposed to at this point. Fredrick scoffed at her simply.

"You truly expect us to believe that you cannot recall your own name?" He asked, pointing his nose down at her. Robin really did shrink away from his judgmental eyes when he stood over her, forgetting just how imposing of a man he was. Especially at the point she was at.

"Hey, I've heard of this before!" Lissa chirped, doing an excited dance at the prospect of adding something of worth to the conversation. "It's called amnesia!" Robin nodded and gestured towards Lissa.

"Listen to the girl." She said. She yelped when Fredrick got closer, the feeling of his armor touching her, the hard steel felt warm from standing in the sun all day long.

"How dare you speak to the pri-"

"Fredrick please. I really don't want to see someone like that wet herself right now." Chrom said. Fredrick merely nods and backs off of Robin. She breathes a sigh of relief, taking a moment to gather her sense again.

"Thank you Chrom." She said. She would have felt worse about calling Chrom by name, but she did the same when she first met them. Although she doesn't remember the first meeting being quite that terrifying.

"Huh?" Chrom asked, bemused. Fredrick shot Robin another suspicious glare. "How do you know my name?"

"I uh...I don't know. It just came to me." Robin said while Lissa even got in on the suspicion.

"Weird..." She said, her arms crossed while Fredrick did her one better.

"Quite. How is it that you don't know your own name, but recognize Chrom?" He asked. Robin felt herself move closer to Chrom as Fredrick looked ready to pounce on her again.

"I don't know, I just do. I don't control what I know and what I don't." She said. Fredrick looked ready to protest her, but Chrom waved his hand dismissively.

"Really it's not that strange to know me if you think about it." He said. Now it was Robin's turn to look confused. Something about this didn't feel quite right. It had been a while since she'd been in this situation, but she was still pretty sure this wasn't following the script. She was a bit concerned she already screwed up the world, but perhaps it was a bit too early to say that.

"Let's just take her to town. We can't leave her out here alone for bandits to find after all." Chrom said. Fredrick simply sighed, defeated.

"Fine. Town's not far. But I won't allow a Plegian spy into the halidome. I'm watching you." He warned. Robin just waved her hands innocently.

"No need to worry about me. Even if I was a spy, I don't remember being one. On account of amnesia." She said. Fredrick nodded slowly as the group started towards the town. Robin went ahead to walk beside Chrom, but Fredrick grabbed a hold of her.

"Oh no you don't." He said. Robin watched a massive armored horse make its way towards the group. Lissa gave it a pet on the muzzle before it stopped at Fredrick's side. He climbed onto it effortlessly and lifted Robin up onto it by her upper arm. She would have let out a cry of pain, but she just couldn't muster it as if her lungs were frozen from fear. She sat on the back of the horse while Fredrick, kept a hold of the silver lance sitting on the horse. He gave Robin a harsh look and nodded.

"Comfy?" He asked. Robin predictably shook her head to which he finally smiled. "Good." He rode up ahead of Chrom and Lissa. Robin looked back at them and they both waved at her with sympathetic smiles. Robin sighed and rested her still heavy head up against Fredrick, thinking of the day she became better than him. It was a glorious day indeed.

…

The settlement of Southtown was naturally peaceful, just as Robin remembered it. She got off the horse mercifully when Fredrick let her down while Chrom and Lissa quickly caught up to them. "We're getting close to Southtown." Chrom says. He smiled at Robin while Fredrick kept his eyes glued to her. Robin sighed in response, knowing precisely what was about to happen to this peaceful settlement.

"I suppose I should introduce us all now." Chrom continued as he walked towards Fredrick. "As stated before, this is Fredrick, the Shepard's deputy." As he said that, Fredrick did a curt nod from his horse. "And the delicate one is Lissa." He said, punctuating it with a pat on her head. Lissa pouted at her older brother, stamping her feet.

"I am _not_ delicate." She said, harshly. Chrom didn't look impressed.

"You're a healer and the enemy needs only to look at you funny to kill you." He said, crossing his arms. Robin couldn't help but smirk as Lissa quickly pounded her fists on Chrom's chest. It didn't bother him at all, but it was funny to see. Once she gave Chrom a thorough beating, the turned away and crossed her arms with a most regal pout.

"How nice. My name is Robin. Funny, I...just remembered that." Robin said, stepping back as Fredrick gave her another glare.

"Oho, so now she remembers." He said, but Chrom didn't pay him any mind.

"Robin, huh? What a nice name. Strange that you remembered it now that we've reached the Halidome but, I'm sure it's nothing." He said. Fredrick grunted, pulling the reigns of his horse.

"Indeed." He said gruffly. Before anymore heat could come upon Robin however, Lissa interrupted just in time.

"Chrom! The village!" She exclaimed, pointing her finger towards an ominous plume of black smoke.

"Damn! Must be bandits. Shepherds, move out!" Chrom ordered.

"But what about her?" Fredrick asked, looking over at Robin.

"Unless she's on fire as well, then she can wait!" Chrom spoke in his demanding tone. Fredrick sighed in response.

"Aptly put, milord." He said and Lissa did her impatient dance.

"Come on, let's go already!" She cried. They all nod and ride ahead to Southtown.

Robin sighed, finally taking the time to pull out her master tome. She flipped to the first page, ignoring how far off script things went and made it to the map. Strange. Where there was once just a static image now sat a moving replica of the map. She could see the units all meandering about in the small confined space. The boss of the bandits sitting at the very top of the map and flanked by his little squad of weaklings.

She put her finger over the unit, suddenly getting a little overview of their stats which seemed a bit weird to her. Certainly you can't measure strength with a number. She also got a look at their weapons. Nothing special to be certain. Certainly nothing that can do little more than a scratch to Fredrick. Except for that mage. With a confident smirk, she checked to make sure her bronze sword and thunder tome were with her as well. She wasn't sure when she got them. Perhaps Hubba gave them to her before she left. This book would certainly come in handy. She chuckled to herself before chasing after them.

…

"We have to stop them! They're destroying everything!" Lissa shouts once they made it to the battlefield. Chrom grunted and gritted his teeth. The sight of his countrymen being put to the blade and their possessions destroyed filled him with that familiar sense of why he did this.

"Don't worry. These bandits will definitely be sorry they picked today to do this." He said. He was interrupted however when Robin made it to the scene just in time.

"Wait!" She shouts as she makes it to them. "I can help you."

"Robin!? Why did you follow us?" Chrom demanded to know. The situation was too dire for Fredrick to give her a glare at the moment. He looked much more impatient than anything else.

"I want to help. I'm armed so I can fight too!" Robin said, pulling her tome out. This genuinely shocked Fredrick, pulling him out of the moment for just one moment.

"How the hell did I miss that?" He pondered to himself.

"Maybe you're not quite as diligent as you thought." Robin answered. She normally knew better than to poke the Fredrick, but she just couldn't help it. Fredrick didn't get mad however. He just nodded slowly.

"Duly noted. I shall be much more thorough with you next time. Perhaps a strip search will be adequate." He said, firing his own smirk at Robin when she covered herself with the cloak.

"I...don't think that's necessary." She mumbled, knowing full well he'd be dedicated enough to do it.

"Bicker later." Chrom said, stepping between them. "If you can fight then we'd be happy to have you." He said. Fredrick didn't seem to share that sentiment.

"I don't think we really need-"

"I don't want to hear it right now Fredrick." Chrom hushed him quickly. "Now let's move!"

Fredrick sighed and looked to Robin. "Very well. Just stick close to the rear. That cloak doesn't look like it'd protect much when it's meeting a blade. Maybe stay with Lissa and keep enemies off of her." He said. Chrom nodded as well, seeming to agree with that. Fredrick then moved forward, glaring a Myrmidon down to lure him in.

Chrom admired Robin for a moment, noticing the tome she held. "Ah, so you know magic as well?" Robin nodded.

"I believe so, yes." She said. Chrom gave her a wary look, taking a pace away from her.

"You uh...believe so? I think I will be fighting a few paces away from you." He said while Robin grinned at him.

"Nah, I can control it just fine. So any magic from me will be quite intentional." She said simply. Chrom only stared at her, keeping his cautious stance from her.

"I don't know if that's calming of terrifying." He said. She smirked, walking behind Fredrick and nodding.

"Yes." She said. Lissa frowned at her, glancing to her brother whom merely shrugged.

"She doesn't seem dangerous so far." He said. It didn't do much, but it put Lissa a bit more at ease as she moved closer to Robin.

Fredrick's plan worked to perfection as the Myrmidon charged to the big man on the horse with the strong lance. He made a strike and did peanuts for damage while Fredrick merely obliterated the poor man. Robin couldn't help but feel a bit bad for him, but on other levels he deserved the lance shaped hole in his chest.

A barbarian moved into everyone's range and didn't accomplish anything else before Robin hit him with some lightning. He jerked back in electifying pain while Chrom launched forward with Falchion gleaming in the light before he brought it down onto the Barbarian's shoulder and cut down deep into his chest. The barbarian fell in a mess of blood and Chrom gained experience. Which was weird to Robin. She certainly never saw anything like that before.

The field was clear for now so decided to move towards the mage sitting at the corner of the platform. Chrom moved next to her and nodded slowly to her while Fredrick rode up behind Robin and Lissa stuck close to the back. The mage came in and hit Robin with the sharp gust of wind, managing to make her bleed a bit, but she was quick to fire back her own lightning at the mage and nailed him in the chest. While he was doubled over in pain, apparently Chrom didn't feel he had enough blood lust and charged in, taking the little man's head clean off. Robin chuckled quietly, the memories of how brutal the army was coming back to her.

"I'll move forward and draw the enemy out to us." Fredrick said, starting to move forward, but Robin stopped him.

"Hold on. Look, I can't really explain what I'm about to say but...I can see the enemies." She said. She got a dumbfounded look from the two men.

"Thanks for the update. Glad to know you're not blind and forgetful." Fredrick replied. Robin pouted at him and crossed her arms.

"No no, I mean...I can see the enemy's...life. Everything about them from how strong they are to what weapons they use to how much they can take." She elaborates. "And I happen to know that you'll murder everyone of them with that lance if you go fight them now. Except for the mages that will attack you out of range. And...well...Chrom and I would like to kill them instead." She said. She was sure this experience thing was important after all, and Fredrick certainly didn't get a lot from these enemies.

"Uh...is this true milord?" Fredrick asked, looking towards Chrom.

"Er...I don't know. I guess it would be nice. I do feel a bit stronger when I fight more often." He said. Lissa rolled her eyes at him.

"You just want to fight more." She said. Chrom grunted, though he didn't deny it.

"Well very well then. What do you propose I do, miss Robin?" Fredrick asked. Robin simply took out her bronze sword and handed it to him. "Oh, now I couldn't take your weapon Robin." She frowned at him and held up her tome.

"I'll be fine. Take it." She said, but Fredrick waved his hand at her.

"Oh, no no no. Really, I'll be fine with my lance." He said. Robin sighed, rubbing her chin.

"Stubborn monkey..." She grumbled under her breath. "Fine. Then just put your lance down and then let them-"

"You want me to disarm myself?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes." Robin deadpanned.

That's insane! The mere thought of rushing into battle without your weapon! Only an idiot would do that. Or Vaike. But I suppose the two are one in the same." He said, sniffing indignantly. Robin groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"For Naga's sake...fine, then I'll go lure them out myself. I ran the numbers. I'll be fine if I stand right here." She said, stepping onto a spot where a Myrmidon and a mage spotted her, but no one seemed to pay any attention to their buddies suddenly running off. Nor did Fredrick seem to disagree with this plan.

Robin sighed, peering into her master tome when they made it to her. She could see a percentage associated to both her and her enemy. The Myrmidon had a one hundred percent change of hitting it seemed and sure enough, he was far too fast for her to even hope to dodge. He got a good cut into her, but she would live and she took a decent chunk out of him in return.

The mage then moved in to strike her from afar with his thunder tome. His chances were the same as her's, eighty. She cried out in pain when the electricity hit her chest, but she quickly shook it off and flung her own ball at him. He saw it coming and daintily jumped away from it. Robin's eye twitched.

"Bravo, my lady. But the enemy is over there." Fredrick snarked. She didn't remember him being so snarky. It pissed her off. "Now if you'll excuse me." Fredrick continued, trotting over to the mage and gibbing him immediately. Chrom patted Robin's good shoulder before rushing in and taking the Myrmidon down to nearly dead. He was certainly feeling the pain, but he was fighting on. Robin grumbled and fried him the rest of the way with her lighting.

Lissa was quick to heal Robin up with her staff afterwards. Robin sighed as thankfully most of the rest of the group came after Chrom. He took a couple axes to the face while the mage took a shot at Fredrick as he couldn't reach Chrom. But the last barbarian to attack Chrom got a little more than he bargained for. Chrom stepped back and Robin could almost see the power shining from Chrom as he bellowed out a pre asskicking line.

"Your end has come!" He shouted before jumping clear across the battlefield and bisected the barbarian in a bloody mess. It was both gut wrenching and beautiful at the same time. Especially since he cut a barbarian in half with a rapier. That alone was worthy of praise. And that action got Chrom the last bit of experience. Robin looked at the master tome once again to watch as some of Chrom's stats actually went up one by one. His strength, skill, and speed to be more precise. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she was sure it was good.

Before long, there was only the boss left. Being a defeat the boss mission, he naturally did nothing as all of his men were murdered and the small group closed in on him. He had a hand axe which made attacking him safely slightly more problematic, but that didn't stop Chrom from charging in anyways. Robin looked at the master tome, taking note of the sixty five percent chance for Chrom to be hit. Though she was a bit worried about that five percent crit chance. But surely that was so low that it didn't even matter.

She shut the book and not even two seconds later heard someone hit the ground and Lissa scream. "Chrom! No, you can't die!" She cried as Chrom laid on the ground with his chest sliced open. Robin could feel her eyes twitch more with annoyance than with sadness. Normally seeing Chrom drowning in his own blood would have filled her with something more akin to sadness or anger, but seeing as it wasn't long since she already saw him in such a position, and knowing she could restart the battle, at any moment, she just felt a lingering sense of irritation.

"You've gotta be kidding me..." She mumbled

Meanwhile, Hubba watched the battle unfold from the outrealm gate and snickered as Robin restarted the battle. "Welcome to Fire Emblem, kid."


	2. Chapter 2

Back in Southtown, things went quite a bit differently the second time. Different as in Robin shoved her sword into Fredrick's hand and threatened to weld it there with her magic if he didn't shut up and take it. Needless to say, as a man without much defense against magic, it was nice to see a little fear in his serious eyes. She then sent him out into the middle of the battlefield and let all the enemies either whiff or give his armor a nice new scratch while he whacked all the bandits with a sword about as sharp as a butter knife. She and Chrom followed his wake of broken bodies and finished off whoever was left standing after running into Fredrick. Lissa was a bit bored this time though.

With everyone either dead or dying, only the boss remained once again. He had a name, and the tome told her that name, but Robin really just couldn't bring herself to care. Her brilliant plan of sending Fredrick to do everything while everyone else just kills what he doesn't has worked thus far so she decided to keep it going. Even if the boss did critical this time, Fredrick was beefy enough to take it. He didn't critical though and Fredrick proceeded to beat him over the head with the sword.

Feeling confident, Robin decided to step forward to take the last bit of hp the boss had. He was looking torn up and ready to collapse at any moment, but the poor thing kept fighting on. She had to admire his determination. Most people would just quit in the face of such adversity. But not him or his men. They fought on even when it was obvious they would lose. And Robin could respect that. But not enough to spare his life. This man killed many people today, among them being Chrom once. And that was unforgivable. So, with a hearty battle cry, Robin shot a ball of electric retribution straight for the nearly dead barbarian to end his miserable life.

She could almost see the word "miss" dancing right before her eyes, taunting her. Mocking her. But that could just be a hallucination from the axe in her face. But she didn't really care about that. She just let the whole situation sink in for her. She didn't even want to look at her tome. It would just laugh at her. Instead, she just said the one thing on her mind. The only thing that could be said about this situation. "Fucking, what?" At least Lissa had something to do now.

Thankfully Chrom was right beside her and took pity on the poor girl. He wasn't about to let this discretion take place without some sort of overly harsh punishment. And it seemed more of his father had slipped into his genes than he would rightfully admitted. He grasped a phrase his father would often say firmly in his mind as he grabbed hold of Falchion and pointed it at the weakened barbarian. _There's no kill like overkill._ In a marvelous reversal of fortune, Chrom summoned up all the strength within him and let loose a rousing phrase to pump him up.

"Now I'm angry!" And with that, he proceeded to leap at least ten feet into the air and across what had to be thirty feet from a standing jump and landed right in front of the weakened barbarian, finally putting him out of his misery with a clean cut straight from the top of his head straight down the middle. Robin would have appreciated the poetic justice more if not for her throbbing head.

The battlefield went eerily silent for a moment before Lissa decided to cheer for the death of many bandits. Not that they didn't deserve it. Pricks. "Whoo! We did it!"

"Impressive work everyone." Fredrick nodded. "Especially you milord. You would have done your father proud."

"Er...not really the type of praise I'm looking for Fredrick." Chrom said as he wiped away some gibs from his shoulder.

"Well that was crap." Robin added her own two cents in.

"But we won. That's what's important." Chrom said, flashing a perfect princely smile.

"Lucky for the town that we were nearby. You were pretty awesome Robin! Swords, sorcery _and_ tactics. What can't you do?" Lissa gushed while Robin blushed and rubbed a hand through her pale ponytail.

"Oh, I'm not that great." Robin said, modestly accepting the praise and secretly loving it. Of course Fredrick was always the wet blanket.

"Well she can't hit the enemy when it matters." He added dryly.

"Thanks Fredrick, always the charmer." Robin deadpanned, feeling herself deflate just a bit. Fredrick just smiled in response, either unaware of sarcasm or not caring. Robin would chalk it up to the latter.

"Well you're certainly not a helpless victim. You took that axe better than Vaike." Chrom added. Robin gave him a glare worthy of Walhart, suddenly remembering that one day, she will stick an electrical stake through his chest. And at this point, it will be glorious.

"Quite right. Perhaps you're even capable of explaining how you got here?" Fredrick asked. He didn't look quite as scary as he did the first time, but Robin could still feel him glaring holes into her.

"You wouldn't believe me even if I told you. Because honestly...even I don't believe it. Or know for that matter. I seriously just woke up in that field with no memory of anything that happened before." She explained. Of course, she could have also told them that she woke up in a swirling blue vortex to an old man telling her she'd save the world. And somehow she felt like they might just believe that too. Leaving out the part where she killed Chrom in cold blood conveniently.

"You fought to save Ylissian lives. That tells me more than enough about your character. As far as I'm concerned, you're one of us." He said, walking towards her and taking her hand gently. "Would you agree?"

"Yeah, sure." Robin agreed, shaking his hand. "But, can I just tell you that judging someone solely based on who they kill and don't kill is a terrible way to judge character?" Chrom stepped a bit closer to her, his eyes burrowing into her own suddenly.

"It's not just that. You wouldn't turn on us, would you?" He asked. A stray gust of wind toyed with his short blue locks while his eyes softened and that winning smile appeared on his face once again. Robin felt a bit weak in the knees but she stayed strong and griped Chrom's hand a bit tighter.

"Never." She replied. Chrom nodded and let got of her hand with a stout nod.

"Good." He said before turning away and walking back to Fredrick. Robin could feel herself pout. Letting herself get played so easily by Chrom's stupid boyish charms.

"Come now milord, for once I must agree with Robin. This is ridiculous!" Fredrick protested quickly. Chrom shot him a serious glare and Fredrick just as quickly returned to a dutiful position. "I only speak out of concern for the Halidome. Letting an outsider such as her so close to the palace. She must at least be watched more thoroughly."

"Fredrick, her tactics worked like a charm. She can't hit a dying barbarian, but her ideas are sound. Would you really wish to lose a tactician such as her? Besides, I believe her story. We did find her with a pretty major bump on her head." Chrom said in an commanding manner. Fredrick sniffed indignantly but didn't speak any further.

"I really wish you guys would stop bringing that up." Robin said, pouting at the two men. "Honestly, I can hit things. It's just been a while." If Chrom could play up his boyish charm, then surely Robin could use her feminine wiles against him as well. And did she ever have wiles. And the plan worked as the two men kicked the soil around, looking guilty.

"Yes. Well...anyways. Milord, did you notice the bandit's accents? They were Plegian." Fredrick pointed out after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Plegian, huh?" Robin pondered, rubbing her chin. Chrom nodded towards her.

"Plegia is Ylisse's westernly neighbors. They send small bands of bandits hoping to instigate a war." He explained even though no one asked him to.

"So why don't you just go to war with them?" Robin asked. She knew the answer of course, but having already been in a war with Plegia, she knew for a fact that Ylisse would win, hands down. And it was also fun to throw a rabid wolf in a pen of sheep to see what happened sometimes.

"Us go to war?" Chrom suggested incredulously. "That would bring a lot more bad than good. It would end with more Ylissian lives lost and it would never end the feud between Ylisse and Plegia."

"Yeah, but Plegia's army is peanuts." Robin responded quickly. "The four of us could probably march in there right now and win. Heck, Fredrick could do it alone if we kept him stocked. Especially if these roving bands are anything to go by." Chrom frowned, stroking his chin and pacing about as if considering this.

"While I appreciate the praise, I really must object to going to war with Plegia." Fredrick said. Lissa, whom had been idly drawing in the soil with her staff was only half listening to everything that was happening. But she finally decided to add her own two cents into it.

"It would certainly be nice to stop them from attacking us all the time. It's our townspeople who suffer their attacks. They're innocent and helpless to Plegia's attacks." She said with an intense glare in her blue eyes.

"They have us Shepherds to protect them, remember Lissa." Fredrick helpfully pointed out. "You mustn't get caught up in your emotions or it'll cloud your judgment." Lissa nodded.

"I know, I know. I'll get used to this eventually." Lissa said, her arms crossed as she huffed, a bit annoyed.

"Yeah, about that. I'm pretty sure that if the townspeople actually put effort into fighting them off, even they could kill a couple Plegian bandits. But, to each their own." Robin said.

"Er, pardon me." A villager interrupted the conversation and walked forward with a small crowd of cheering people behind him. "Milord, I implore you to stay the night here. Please. We are simple villagers, but we would gladly toast your valor to a feast." He said. Lissa's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates at the thought of eating some real food and she quickly started placing orders for her food. Fredrick was having none of that however.

"We appreciate the offer, but we really must be heading back to Ylisstol." Fredrick said as politely as possible. Lissa cast a pair of sad eyes up at Fredrick.

"What? We're not staying? But Fredrick, it's nearly dark!" Lissa complained.

"Have we really been talking for that long?" Robin pondered, noticing the sun starting to slip under the horizon. "Huh. Fascinating."

"When night falls then we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs. I believe you said something about getting used to this." Fredrick said with a smile that was somehow both playful and condescending at the same time. Robin had to admit, it was impressive.

"You know Fredrick? Sometimes I really hate you." Lissa pouted, her arms crossed and her back turned to him. Robin chuckled a bit, happy she wasn't the only one with those thoughts.

"He's quite the stern one, isn't he?" She commented. Lissa grunted with annoyance and glanced at Robin.

"Hmph! That's one word for it, but I'm sure I could think of a few others." Robin chuckled again at her. She had forgotten how much she liked Lissa. Chrom laughed along with Robin, a much more genuine smile on his face.

"Fredrick really only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe." Chrom said. "Both figurative and literally."

"I'm still here you know." Fredrick pointed out, his smile now gone.

"We're aware." Chrom said as everyone shared a short laugh at Fredrick's expense.

"Amusing as ever. Now, shall we go?" Fredrick asked as he hopped back onto his horse. The other three shared one last jovial laugh as they followed the wet blanket to the capital.

…

Lissa groaned for about the third time that hour when the trail was lost to the shadows of the night. "I told you. Look, it's dark already! And egh! The bugs are all over the plaAAGH! EGH! ECH! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptooey!"

"Well you should have kept your mouth shut." Chrom said honestly. Lissa glared daggers at him, her eyes almost intense enough to glow in the night. "Aw come on Lissa, hardship builds character. Wanna help me go get firewood?"

Lissa made more choking noises while Robin and Fredrick just watched them both with amusement. "I think I swallowed it..." She gagged. "Get your own stupid firewood. I've had enough character for one day."

"Yeah, this seems like as good a place as any to set up camp." Robin said, ignoring Lissa's plight. Fredrick was similarly apathetic towards Lissa.

"Yes, some hunting and gathering is definitely in order." He said. Lissa just turned away from them all.

"Screw all of you. I hope you all choke on a bug." She grumbled.

…

Dinner time brought no relief to Lissa's gag reflexes as she stared at acharred steak of bear meat. She never really liked bears in the first place, why would she want to eat them? And honestly she'd rather starve than be subjected to figuring out what it tasted like.

Chrom let out a satisfied sigh as he dug into his own bear meat with a nostalgic grin. "It's been far too long since I've last had bear. Delicious. What's wrong Lissa? Dig in." Lissa blanched in response and crossed her arms like a stubborn child.

"You couldn't pay me to eat that." She said bitterly. "Why can't you find an animal that normal people eat instead of meddling with the food chain? Right Robin?" Lissa perked up at the sound of tearing meat. "Robin?" She asked, glancing towards the once proper looking lady as she was now devouring her food like a wolf. She hadn't actually realized just how hungry she was. It felt like she hadn't eaten since she was five years old.

"Well...I suppose I can give you a pass. You probably hadn't eaten in a long while." Lissa said with a forlorn sigh.

"Ah come on Lissa. Meat is meat. If you want to be a Shepherd then you gotta learn how to do this." Chrom said.

Lissa poked at one of the steaks with a disgusted look. "Since when does meat smell like old boots dragged through the fields?" She asked.

"Come now Lissa. Every experience makes us stronger. Even unpleasant ones."

Lissa pouted towards the stalwart knight sitting across from her whom hadn't touched a bit of meat either. "Really? Then why haven't you eaten any yet Fredrick?"

"I'm not hungry." He said quickly. Lissa rolled her eyes, unconvinced.

"Uh huh. Sure."

…

Chrom sat up late into the night with a start. He looked around the campsite finding the fire had been put out and everyone was sleeping in a circle around. Fredrick leaned up against his horse while Robin was lying flat on her back, snoring loudly. He frowned, feeling perturbed as he made his way towards the brush.

"Big brother? What's wrong?" Lissa yawned, sitting up from the bag she had been using for a pillow.

"Lissa. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. But...something's amiss." He said, getting an interested eyebrow from Lissa.

"Define amiss." She said cautiously. "Like, something crawling around in your throat?" Chrom could only shake his head however as he moved forward.

"I didn't swallow a bug Lissa. And I don't know, but I'm going to look around." He said, picking up Falchion and keeping it secured to his side as he pushed through the brush. Lissa quickly grabbed her heal staff and followed after him.

"Hold on, you're not going alone." She said quietly so she didn't disturb the others.

Lissa walked close to Chrom's side for what felt like hours. Something was definitely wrong here. The night was completely silent. No birds. No animals. Nothing but the soft pat of their boots through the foliage. And...and it got darker.

"Chrom..." Lissa said quietly. "Something's not right..."

"I know..." Chrom answered. Just after he said that, the entire Earth began to shake. Lissa cried and clung to her brother tightly.

"What's happening!?" She cried out.

"I don't know, but stay close!" Chrom ordered before gasping. He could hear trees toppling and the sound of rock and Earth shattering one after another, quickly growing louder and louder. The darkness of the night starting to glow with a strange orange glow. "Lissa, run." She just gasped, looking at him hesitantly. "I mean it, go!" He shouted, grabbing her arm and turning around.

They looked behind themselves, finding the very Earth rising up just behind them as molten magma bubbles up from the cracks and bleeds over the ground, quickly setting the forest on fire. They both pant, running for their lives as they try to get back to safety.

The trail quickly ended and Chrom coaxed Lissa down another one as lava rushes after them. They ran for miles, stopping finally once they couldn't see anymore fire. "I think we'll be okay here." Chrom panted. Lissa just pointed her finger up into the sky.

"Chrom! What IS that!?" She panicked. Chrom saw it as well. A bright blue portal had opened up right in the middle of the sky, bright as another sun. Several figures dive bombed down into the ground with a force that would kill a normal man. But these certainly weren't normal men. Chrom wouldn't call them men at all.

Their skin was pale and ashy, and their mouths looks like someone took a hammer to their teeth. They all get up one by one, each with a sickening cracking noise as their bones snap back into place from their fall. One looked towards the two of them, its eye sockets glowing red like embers nested inside to smolder. They wore the uniform of a fighter, but Chrom wasn't paying much attention to that as he drew Falchion.

"Stand back Lissa." She nodded and backed up against a nearby rock. The monsters let out a bellowing roar, a strange purple smog escaping from their mouth as one charges at Chrom. It was pretty slow and Chrom slashed through it easily. But it didn't fall. In fact, it just twisted its neck with a sickening popping noise to glare at Chrom before it moved to attack. Chrom blocked its axe, struggling against its strength before shoving it to the ground with his shoulder. He then spun Falchion before jumping up into the air and landing on top of the monster, stabbing it through what he had assumed was its heart. Its eyes faded out like a candle getting blown out and the whole thing disappeared into a puff of smoke.

Chrom didn't get much time to think about what had just happened as Lissa screams. She was literally backed to the wall and holding her staff out while the monster stalked her slowly. Really, really slowly. Like, by Naga, Chrom could have sauntered over to it by the time it even raised its axe.

But Chrom was too shocked to move at first and the monster raised its axe, ready to make a Lissa fillet, but as luck would have it, one more figure came towards the entrance of the portal. A man...Chrom thinks. He was certainly taking his sweet time, but that's okay because the monster certainly seemed patient, seemingly frozen in place while it waits for this man to reach the end of the portal and come out of it and then land. Lissa probably could have walked away herself, but then it wouldn't be dramatic.

The man hits the ground and runs over to Lissa as the monster finally seems to remember it's supposed to be killing people and goes to swing its axe. Far, far too late. The man wedged himself between the monster and Lissa, holding the Falchion dangerously behind his back and holding the axe back. This was remarkably foolish as if the monster overpowered him then he'd behead himself, but at least he looks cool doing. So cool that Chrom completely forgot his sister was in danger until the man barked for him to help in a strangely female like voice.

And together they both killed the monster together with an awesome double slash. And all the other monsters got bored and left or something, but they were gone for now. The man sheathed another Falchion, but Chrom didn't notice, more interested in the strangely royal looking masked man.

"Quite an entrance. What's your name?" Chrom asked. The man didn't answer him immediately of course and instead just stared at him dramatically through a mask that looks a lot more like a hindrance than anything else.

…

Fredrick and Robin rode through the burning forest as fire balls and lava bombarded them like crazy. Fredrick stared straight ahead while Robin was finally caught off guard for the first time since she woke up. She latched onto Fredrick's back tightly, her mind trying to connect everything that was happening. "Does this happen often!?" She cries.

"Oh yeah, Ylisse just has Earthquakes that tear the ground asunder every other day!" Fredrick barked out at her. "I don't know what's happening, but you have to stay calm Robin!" Though truthfully, he wasn't holding himself together much better than Robin. Chrom and Lissa were somewhere lost out in this burning forest!

"Fuck calm! Do you see what's happening!? The Earth just _rose_ up and spit _lava_ and fireballs all over the damn place for no reason! There's a time to be calm and this is not one of them, I am freaking the hell out!" Robin shouted, ducking from a piece of burning debris.

"I understand your fear Robin, but panicking isn't helping! As for why this is happening, perhaps that light we saw has something to do with it!" Fredrick said.

"I don't see how the two could be related!" Robin says. They quickly rode to the site of that light they saw, relief spreading through them both when they saw Chrom and Lissa standing together in a relatively not on fire part of the forest.

"Milord! Milady! You're alright!" Fredrick exclaimed as Robin climbed off of the horse.

"Chrom! Lissa! Thank goodness!" She said, running towards them and giving them both a hug. "We thought the worst! What's happening? What are these creatures!?" Robin asked, her mind still racing. Chrom grunted, looking over the forest at the sight of many more of those monsters coming towards them.

"I don't know...but they're not from Ylisse..." Chrom replied.

"A portal opened up in the sky and just spat them all out onto the ground!" Lissa blurts out, clearly holding herself just slightly better than Robin had been recently. Though now that she found Chrom and Lissa, she could already feel herself calming down. She was calm enough to hear Lissa's little explanation at least. A portal, huh? That sounded familiar.

"I'm glad that none of you have been hurt." Fredrick said, smoothing his ruffled hair down.

"Yeah, thank the masked man for saving me. Huh? Hey, where did he go?" Lissa asked, noticing the masked man was gone. Chrom was a bit concerned at how quickly and easily he left in this mess, but he had to worry about that after these creatures were put down.

"We can worry about him after we deal with these creatures." Fredrick said, putting Chrom's thoughts to words. Robin sighed, pulling out the master tome to get a good look at what was happening. And maybe she should look ahead a bit so she doesn't get more surprises like this.

"There are some forts nearby." Robin said, pointing through the trees at a faintly visible stony building. "We can use that as cover, but I would only suggest one or two people using it. They're not particularly large forts so more than that would give away your strategic advantage."

"Most of these things are using axes." Chrom adds. "So swords will be best used for this."

"Would you like your sword back Robin?" Fredrick asked to which Robin glared at him.

"Welded. To your hand." She threatened, pulling the thunder tome out to make a point. "Now then, Fredrick, take that sword and head into that fort. Get as much attention as you can." Fredrick nodded, galloping off into the woods and hiding in the forest. Robin frowned, peeking at all the other enemies and noticing one of them had a hammer. _Uh oh._

 _Well, it only has about a twenty percent chance to hit Fredrick._ She thought. She then heard Fredrick cry out as he's hit hard. _Of fucking course it did._ At least he was still alive to kill the monster which her book labeled a Risen. "Lissa, stay close to Chrom and I, alright?" Robin said. Lissa nodded, taking a place behind them both as they moved in. A fighter Risen suddenly leaps out of the trees at Chrom, but Chrom amazingly managed to hop out of the way and slash it up its chest. Robin grunted, getting in on it and blasting it back into the brush with a well aimed thunder. Frankly, she was just happy that she managed to hit the damn thing.

Down south, Robin noticed a figure emerge from the trees, sitting gallantly and proud on the back of a huge horse with a lance gripped firmly in her hand. "I knew I shouldn't have left em. Ah well, I'm here now. Alright you ashy faced freak! Where do you wanna get my lance? I was thinking right up your—"

Her no doubt vulgar phrase was quickly cut off by a rather noble looking silver haired guy makes his way in the forest. "Hold milady!"

"Muh?" The woman astride a horse spoke with bemused irritaion.

"Life may be long, but attraction is fleeting! Would you leave me in your sweet dust? Leave war to the warrors, dear bird! A beauty such as you need wage only love." The noble looking man said while the woman just stared at him indignantly.

"Riiiiight. The hell are you?" The woman asked as the man smirked.

"Interested? Well I—"

"Nah, not really. I'm gonna go stab things. Catch ya later." And so the woman rode ahead, leaving the man to look completely shell shocked. Robin couldn't help but smirk a tad at the events that just unfolded in front of her.

"Hey, Archer guy! You gonna help us out?" Robin called out to him.

"I'm no mere archer. I am the archest of archers! The very noblest tip of nobility! Virion, at your service. Now my lovely lady, you shall watch as—"

"By the gods, I just asked if you were going to help, not your life story. A simple yes or no would suffice." Robin said, seeing exactly why that woman left left. Virion frowned at first before turning it up into a grin.

"Hoho, your beauty belies your harsh tongue. Why, I may say your tongue is sharper than my eye." He said, wiggling his eyebrows at her. Robin immediately felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh...kay then...well, there's a battle going on so uh...maybe go shoot some monsters." She said, crossing her arms.

"Hm hm. By your word. But first, I must know your name." He said, coming a bit closer to her. Robin shuddered.

"Uh...my name is Robin."

"Ah, a name that pales the very thing it's named after! Oh, how it flows off the tongue just as delicately as the—"

"By the gods, do you stop talking!?" Robin snapped at him.

"Ah, sorry. I do have a tendancy to prattle on in the face of such beauty."

"Yeah yeah, just go fight." Robin rolled her eyes, not noticing that Chrom and Lissa had left long ago and.

"Actually Robin, the fight's over." Chrom called out. "It wasn't very hard."

"Well then, now without the allure of battle to get in the way, perhaps the two of us could—"

"I'm gonna go over there." Robin interrupted him before walking through the forest towards the rest of the group. "And stop looking at my chest." She added.

"Ah, if I could I would. But you display it quite well." Virion chuckled as he followed after them.

…

"Well it seems the creatures have been vanquished." Fredrick said, a large hammer shaped dent in his armor. "And it seems this young man took out another group completely by himself. Impressive." Fredrick adds. The young man doesn't say anything. Robin looked him up and down.

"My, what nice legs you have, sir." Robin said. "Very feminine. And your hips are quite wide for a man. And what a figure."

"I'm gonna have to ask you to stop looking at me." The "man" said.

"I would if I could." Robin said, rubbing her chin. An awkward silence fell over the group before Lissa cleared her throat.

"Anyways...I never got to thank you for earlier. You really saved me." She said, smiling at him.

"You saved my sister's life. My name is Chrom. May I ask yours?" Chrom said, also trying to check the boy out now that Robin was pointing things out. But he didn't really see it.

"You may call me Marth." The boy said simply. Robin waved her hand dismissively.

"Okay, okay, hold your horses. I call shenanigans. Even Marth, _Even Marth_ , didn't look that much like a woman. I don't know who you're trying to fool."

"Marth, huh? After the hero king? Well, you certainly act like a hero with your showing up at the last moment. Tell me, where did you learn how to fight like that?" Chrom asked, seemingly ignoring Robin.

"Hey, did anyone notice "he" also has Falchion? Anybody? Hello?" Robin asked as everyone continues to ignore her. "Come on, you just have look at the sword! It's right there!"

"I'm uh...not here to talk about me." Marth said, looking very uncomfortable under Robin's accusations but trying to remain cool and aloof. "The world teeters on the edge of destruction. This was only a prelude of what's to come. Now I must go." He said before prancing off into the woods. Robin groans as he leaves.

"You even run like a woman!" She calls out.

"Huh? What's teetering on what now?" Lissa asked, scratching her head.

"Friggen girl." Robin grumbled, crossing her arms.

"We'll probably meet him again. But until then, we'd best head to the capital." Fredrick said. Robin frowned, looking around the still very on fire forest.

"Shouldn't we try to do something about this?" She asked. Fredrick gave the forest a once over and shook his head.

"Nah, this is a lost cause. It'll burn itself out eventually." He said, kicking his horse and trotting towards the exit of the woods. Everyone followed while the woman from before pouts.

"My name is Sully, by the way." She said to Robin in particular.

"No one cares." Robin answered flatly.

"And I am Vir—"

"Shut up."

 **Author's Note:**

 **For the record, I don't actually dislike Virion, in case anyone thinks I'm being too harsh to him here.**


	3. Chapter 3

It was about a day's walk to the capital after the hell that was...hell. Literally cracking through the surface and spilling out into the world. Robin shuddered at the memories. From the very Earth rupturing beneath Fredrick's horse to the fire balls that rained upon the forest. It was like something out of an apocalypse story. The gods raining their vengeance upon the world, punishing humans for one thing or another. And the cherry on top would have to be those strange, zombie like creatures walking around. Sure, they were no tougher than an average soldier, but there was just something uncanny about them. It bode ill for the future. Even Robin's book shed little light on the creatures.

But that was behind them for now. It was like night and day walking into the capital. Grand buildings stuck high into the sky, just as Robin had remembered it with the great castle, Ylisse set to look over the bustling capital city. Store fronts and friendly people greeted the Shepherds as they went along down the paved streets behind a few horse drawn carriages carrying some people across the grand city. Robin remembered being more enthralled the first time she'd seen these sights. Yet the castle brought about ill reminders of a grim future soon to come.

"Well, it appears that everything is normal. Good to see the madness of the Great Quake didn't disturb the capital." Fredrick spoke frankly as he leaped from his horse. Lissa let out a hefty sigh of relief, and it was then that Robin realized their two new friends had left at some point during the walk into the capital.

"Well that's a relief." Lissa said.

"Look! The Exalt has come to grace us with her presence!" A villager called out over the noisy ruckus of the capital. And instantly a crowd cleared a path in the street for a royal looking escort. At the front and center stood a tall, graceful woman whose very presence seemed to set a peaceful lull over the hearts of anyone who saw her. She took slow and deliberate steps and raised her hand to wave to her loving subjects. Robin noticed the shadow of a pegasus knight just above the capital. No doubt her most loyal of retainers, Phila. Robin immediately recognized her as one who aided Chrom during the Mad King's war, as well as during the war with Valm. Robin certainly got to know the dutiful captain well during her relatively short stint as queen alongside Chrom. And she smiled in spite of herself. Like seeing an old friend.

"So, that's the ruler of this place, huh?" Robin asked, sticking with the script she was given. "Maybe she knows what the heck that quake was all about."

"Alas, I would highly doubt that. My guess is that it has just been brought to her attention recently." Fredrick said.

"And we're sure it's alright for her to be walking around like that?" Robin asked. Fredrick chuckled quietly at her.

"Of course. She is the very symbol of peace in this country. Long ago, the Fell Dragon tried to destroy the world. But the first Exalt joined forces with the Divine Dragon and put a stop to him." Fredrick explained, looking rather proud of his knowledge. Robin simply stared at him for a moment before nodding her head slowly.

"Uh...thanks for the history lesson, but that doesn't really answer my question..." She said. Fredrick frowned at her and placed his hands behind his back.

"And she's guarded at all hours." He said with a note of contempt in his tone. Robin turned her attention forward again, watching Emmeryn make her way down the path and back to the castle.

"With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her. She's a calming presence when others might call for war." Chrom added. Lissa nodded in agreement, walking after the exalt.

"And she's the greatest big sister anyone could ask for." She said. Chrom smiled and looked towards Robin, almost expectantly. Robin gave him a disinterested look before remembering she was supposed to be surprised.

"Oh, right. Wow! She's your sister? But that would make you the prince and princess." Robin said. It just wasn't as exciting when she's seen what it's like to be a royal. It was kind of boring, honestly.

"So you remember Chrom's name, but not the title that came with it?" Fredrick asked, giving her another one of those suspicious glares.

"Oh give it a rest Fredrick." Chrom said, crossing his arms towards his retainer.

"I hope you don't expect me to call you prince or princess." Robin said, looking towards the two of them, though she already knew the answer to that.

"Of course not. Shepherds have no title. We're all equal to one another, no matter our blood." Chrom said.

"Yeah. You know...except the title of captain." Robin said. Chrom remained silent at this however. "Guess this explains why Fredrick is so tolerant of you both. Considering he could probably crush you both. At the same time." Fredrick chuckled once more, now shimmering with pride.

"Now, now milady. There's no need for such flattery. But yes, the many sacrifices I make for my lieges and the good of the realm." He said. Everyone started moving down the street once things had died down from Emmeryn's passing through. Everyone but Chrom, whom just sulked along behind them.

…

A short walk to the palace later and Robin once again made her way into the elegant looking building. Hues of blues and highlights of whites were decorated all over the sparse entry hall. All sights that Robin had seen before, but if there was one thing that she could always appreciate, it was Ylisse's palace. Grand, golden chandeliers swung delicately from the ceiling while an orange glow brimmed softly from the brass of some elegantly crafted candelabras hung from the polished white stone walls.

Their boots and armor gave off muffled clinks and thumps as they made their way to the throne room, pounding onto an decadently crafted blue rug that led all the way through a large pair of doors. Two soldiers greet them from either side as they head into the brightly lit throne room where Emmeryn was seated beside her stalwart retainer, Phila whom cast a very Fredrick like gaze upon Robin the instant she walked in. Robin had almost forgotten the harsh mistrust she had gotten from the more dutiful of the soldiers.

And it was around now that she started to realize why exactly no one would really trust her. With her long, pale hair wild and hastily combed, still matted up with dirt and the foul blood of those demons. Her cloak was dirty and a bit ripped in places and her outfit beneath it was tugged and pulled in different parts. She probably looked like little more than some street rat Chrom picked up and dragged into the castle. Yet, her heart still filled with joy at seeing the retainer once again, knowing she would one day be able to know the woman as she had before.

Emmeryn seemed less concerned with Robin however, more overjoyed to see her younger siblings once again. "Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home. Oh, and a good day to you too Fredrick. How fared you all?"

"Well, we shouldn't be having any bandit problems for a while." Chrom spoke frankly while Emmeryn nodded silently.

"I see. That's great news. And our people?" She asked, leaning forward on the throne with an excited grin on her delicate face.

"They're as well as they'll ever be. But we still need to watch the borders, Emm. Brigands crossed over from Plegia." Chrom spoke with a quiet urgency. Emmeryn sits back in her throne, pressing her fingertips together while Phila lowered her head.

"Forgive me. My pegasus knights should have intercepted them." She admits quietly.

"Because pegasus knights certainly could have stopped a band of roving bandits. Most of them with axes." Robin says before clamming up immediately at the silent glares she got from speaking out of line.

"You doubt our strength?" Phila asked, stepping towards Robin. Though Phila was not a particularly tall woman as Robin was, she was imposing and intimidating all the same. Her dark eyes burned with a barely contained rage. An insult on the pegasus knights of Ylisse was like an insult on herself. "I'll have your answer, craven!"

"I-I'm just saying. You should probably vary your forces at least a little bit." Robin says, putting her hands up innocently. "I don't see the logic of your first line of defense being a bunch of winged horsewomen with lances against many beefy dudes with axes. It just seems like a recipe for defeat. You put yourselves at a disadvantage when you're not backed up by anything else. I don't doubt your strength, I just think you're too...specialized."

"And what would you know about a military?" Phila asked.

"Phila! Please stand down and return to me." Emmeryn said, her tone commanding and a bit harsh. Phila shoots Robin a look before returning to the exalt's side.

"Don't sweat it Phila. We had plenty of help dealing with them anyways." Lissa says, smiling at the captain.

"You speak of your new companion here?" Emmeryn asked. Chrom nodded and grasped Robin's shoulder.

"Yes. The loudmouthed one here is Robin. She fought valiantly to save the lives of Ylissian lives so I've decided to make her a Shepherd." He said, earning a spiteful pout from Robin.

"I see. Well it seems Ylisse owes you a great debt, Robin." Emmeryn said, giving Robin a kind smile. Even though she's seen it before, she couldn't help but blush in the presence of such praise from Emmeryn.

"Thank you, your majesty. But it was really nothing. Why, I'm sure Lissa could have taken out half of the brigands by herself." She said while Fredrick cleared his throat.

"And yet you fail to hit one standing directly in front of you." He says simply. She just frowns at him. She'd be labeled a terrorist for sure if she pulled her tome out in the throne room.

"Hey. How does that hammer dent feel?" She fires back, crossing her arms while he quickly sputters out some intelligible gibberish. "That's what I thought."

"Alright you two. That's enough bickering." Chrom said, holding his hands up between them.

"Hmph. Forgive me my lady, but Robin claims to have lost her memory, though she certainly remembers things when it's convenient for her. It's still much too early to rule out that she may be a Plegian spy." Fredrick said suddenly, receiving a shocked gasp from just about everyone in the room.

"Fredrick!" Chrom snapped while Robin narrowed her eyes.

"That's not cool, Fredrick." Robin added.

"Ball's in your court, possible spy." Fredrick said.

"Hm. And yet you let her into the castle. Does she have your trust, Chrom?" Emmeryn asked, looking towards the prince.

"Yes. She risked her life for our people. That's enough for me. No spy would have ever done anything like that." Chrom said while Robin just puts on her most innocent smile.

"Mmhm. Then Robin, you've earned Chrom's faith so I shall give you mine as well." Emmeryn said while Robin smirks at Fredrick.

"Ha!" She said, earning another frown from the others in the room. She quickly regains her composure and calms down. "I mean...thank you, milady." She said, bowing politely.

"Yes. But, thank you Fredrick. You're as prudent as ever. Chrom and Lissa are lucky to have you. I hope they've let you know that sometimes." Emmeryn continues. Fredrick nodded, waving his hand quietly.

"They've expressed something akin to gratitude from time to time." He said. "Perhaps if you heard it on the way through a door, you may mistake it as such."

"Wow, really Fredrick?" Chrom asked.

"Phila, I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?" He asked, ignoring Chrom. Phila simply nodded.

"Yes, they've been spotted all across Ylisse." She said. Robin frowned.

"Dang, they move fast. Any signs of more of that whole Earth tearing open and raining fire down on the lands where they come from?" She asked. Phila merely frowned at her.

"If there have been then it hasn't been reported." She said.

"Well then what the hell was all that in the first place?" Robin asked.

"Would if I could tell you, but alas, none of us are certain what caused that quake. But it hasn't happened elsewhere yet." She said.

"Chrom, we are to hold council." Emmeryne said once Phila had finished. "I was hoping you'd join us."

"Yes, of course." Chrom said. Lissa then looked to Robin, grabbing the sleeve of her cloak and tugging her away.

"I think that's our cue. Come on, I want to show you something." Lissa said before dragging Robin from the throne room.

...

A short walk from the palace leads Robin into a large stone fort just outside of the capital which Robin would grow to become quite familiar with over time. Inside was a woman with sandy blonde hair standing in the middle of a large gathering room with a box of various things in her arms. She seemed to be talking to a huge block of a man with glossy tanned skin and much brighter blonde hair. He was shirtless, naturally and seemed to have a cocky air of confidence around him at all times.

Lissa runs to the center of the room and throws her arms up in a triumphant display. "Ta-da! Here we are! The Shepherd's garrison. Go on, make yourself at home." Lissa said as Robin awkwardly makes her way into the room as everyone turns to watch her. It was just as she remembered it. Dark and a tad bit dirty. Yet something about the place felt a bit homely.

"Lissa, my treasure! Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles waiting for you to return." Robin sighed, watching another blonde woman making her way towards the group. She was dressed much more elegantly than the other warrior types in the garrison at the time. With long, thick hair styled with princess curls and a cool, noble demeanor about her. She walked very deliberately with her back straight and with purpose. Her purple eyes were wide with relief and excitement at seeing Lissa.

"Oh, hey, Maribelle." Lissa said rather nonchalantly. Maribelle stamped her foot and pointed a finger at Lissa.

"Oh hey yourself! I've sprouted 14 gray hairs fretting over you!" She snaps at Lissa.

"You...you actually counted?" Robin asked suddenly before instantly regretting opening her mouth again as Maribelle glared her way.

"And who is this rabble?" She asked with a condescending sneer.

"Hey squirt! Where's Chrom at? I bet he had trouble without teach and his trusty old axe." The brick of a man spoke, placing his hands on his hips confidently with a hearty laugh. Lissa didn't look impressed.

"Oh, so you're teach now, Vaike? I thought people were born without wits. But it can be taught?" Lissa asked as Robin chuckles.

"If anyone's a good teacher for that, it's Vaike." She said.

"Ha ha! Never doubt the Vaike!" He said, grinning broadly for a moment before it fell from his face. "Wait. Was that an insult?"

"Beg pardon, but when might we see the captain?" The woman from before asked, the box she was carrying set aside somewhere. Robin frowned immediately upon seeing her up close, feeling that inner jealous girl in her flare up a bit. She knew well of her little puppy dog crush on Chrom. But there wasn't much for Robin to be worried about. She got Chrom before, and she'll do it again.

"Poor Sumia. She's simply been beside herself all day." Maribelle broke in, patting her on the shoulder. "She's been scanning the horizon all day during training. She may have gotten less bruises if she were blindfolded."

"Aw, that's so sweet of you to care about Chrom." Lissa said. Sumia's cheeks flushed immediately as she frets and steps back while waving her hands frantically.

"W-Worry? I mean, he's our captain, and our prince. Of course I'd worry. Anybody would."

 _Yeah. No ulterior feelings at all, am I right?_ Robin thought as she watched Sumia with crossed arms.

"So who's the grim looking stranger?" Vaike asked, hooking a thumb to Robin.

"No one's stranger than you, Vaike." Lissa said.

"I wouldn't go that far." Robin interjected.

"Well, anyways. This is none other than Robin! Chrom made her the Shepherd's tactician. You should see all the tricks she can do!" Lissa gushed.

"Oh yeah? Well can she do this?" Vaike asked before sucking in a huge mouthful of air. He reared back, cocking his shoulders back and looking like he was ready to puke for a moment before opening his mouth and letting out a belch that Robin swore made the room shake. And now it was Maribelle's turn to look ready to puke. She went pale and clammy and everything.

"Mm. I haven't studied much in the art of belching. But I do have a good "Teach" now don't I?" Robin said as she got a firm slap on the shoulder from Vaike. Maribelle blanched with a distinct sound of disgust.

"Ugh, that was absolutely abhorrent, Vaike! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air? Leave that kind of behavior to the low borns rolling around in filth with nary more education than a common duck. And you, Robin! I'd hoped you were cut from a finer cloth than that! Don't encourage morons like him." And with that, she stormed out of the garrison, a tad of pink added to her pale cheeks.

"Don't take it to heart, Robin. Maribelle warms up to people slowly." Sumia said.

"Yeah. Or burns too quickly." Lissa adds, though Robin just shrugged it off. Maribelle meant well, at least.

More steps could soon be heard moving into the garrison. "Ah! Captain!" Sumia exclaimed, her entire face lighting up. She took two steps to run to Chrom before her feet tripped up and she face planted, hard. Everyone cringed, looking away from her as she got up and dusted herself off, looking like she was ready to curl up and die.

"Sumia! Are you alright...those boots of yours again?" Chrom asked, a sympathetic look on his face.

"No! I mean yes! I mean..." She sighed heavily and covered her face with her hands.

"Anyways, listen up everyone. Tomorrow momrning we'll be marching to Regna Ferox." He said with a nod. "We'll be needing their strength if we want to quell this new menace. Normally the exalt would request this in person, but considering recent circumstances, the job's been passed onto us. This job is strictly voluntary however, so if anyone-"

"I volunteer!" Lissa pipes up immediately.

"Me too. You'll be needing Teach for such a delicate mission." Vaike steps up as well. Someone else said something, but no one was certain what it was or who said it.

Sumia stood back however, a sheepish look on her face. "I...I uh..."

"Yes Sumia?" Chrom asked.

"It's just, I don't know if I'm ready for an actual mission yet. I'll probably just get in the way." She admitted. Chrom nodded and walked over to her. He grasped her shoulder firmly and she tried to shrink away from him, not quite meeting his eye.

"You can stay towards the rear. If we meet in battle, you can just stay back and watch. There are some lessons that can only be learned on the battlefield." He said. She blushed and cast her eyes away from him.

"W-Well...if you think that's wise captain." She said. "I'll follow your orders absolutely."

"I do." Chrom nodded, offering her one of his winning smiles. "Just stay close to me and you'll be fine." Sumia's face lit up again and she smiled up at Chrom while Robin just rolled her eyes in the corner.

"Oh yes! I mean...yes captain." She said, a blush painted over her cheeks. Robin scoffs to herself. Enjoy it while you can, pegasus girl.

…

Robin couldn't sleep. Her mind was buzzing with what they would find tomorrow. Robin remembered the march to Ferox, but not with those...those things running around the area. It was a relatively boring march last time, but this time things might get a bit more difficult.

She had stayed up all night studying the tome old Hubba gave to her. She thumbed through the thick pages again and again, hardly able to believe her eyes. The tome did exactly as it was supposed to. It showed all the vitals of the current army. The current roster, those whom were coming, stats that she still wasn't sure about, as well as some detailed maps of skirmish sites. However, after getting to Ferox, the book ends into blank pages. In the end, it didn't help her much more than her previous experiences did. And the fat lot of good they've been doing lately. Everything is just so different. It may as well be another world. It might just be another world.

She frowned and rubbed her chin while her finger tapped onto the nearly empty book. She would have to find a way to the outrealm gate as soon as possible. She needed to speak to Hubba. The man was always a peculiar one, but she could never quite put her finger down on him. There was something wise and sagelike about him at times. But most of the time, he was just some goofy, incompetent man. She couldn't even be sure that she truly saw him. Nor could she be sure this wasn't all just some elaborate, grief stricken dream. She sighed and slipped the tome under her cloak when she heard someone knock at her door.

"Come in." She called out, switching her attention to her fading thunder tome to look like she was doing something.

"Hey, are you ready to go?" Chrom's voice called into the room once the door was open. Robin lifted her head up higher and turned to face him.

"Ready to go? It's time already?" She asked.

"Mm. If we want to get to Ferox at a decent hour, we must leave now. And we'll hopefully get the drop on any of those foul beasts." He explained before he walked into the room. "You okay? You look like you have something heavy weighing on you." He said. Robin widened her eyes and stood up from her chair. She held one hand to her breast, keeping the tome secure to her body.

"Ah, It's nothing major. Just doing a little thinking." Robin said as she ran a hand through her hair. Chrom nodded, though he didn't quite look convinced.

"Have you slept at all?" He asked, concern touching his voice.

"Ah...no. I suppose I haven't. But don't worry. I've spent many a sleepless nights. Uh, I'm pretty sure." She said as she walked past him. She gasped when she felt his firm grip touch her shoulder.

"No matter what Fredrick says, you're a Shepherd Robin. I trust you completely." He said. Robin stopped where she was, feeling like a knife just stabbed her heart straight through the book.

"You're so naive..." She said in a near whisper. Chrom grabbed her shoulder tighter and walked around to be beside her.

"Maybe so. I let my heart choose my actions more often than my brain. But it's never been wrong once." He said. He reached around her and pressed his fingers against her cheek. He prodded her head and gently pulled it meet his eyes. His big, innocent, blue eyes. And he flashed her that big, lovely smile of his. "And I don't believe it to be wrong this time either."

She smiled in spite of herself. She stared into his eyes and smiled the most genuine smile she's had since she woke up. And before she knew it, her face was rested up against his chest while her arms snaked around his back and pulled him into a hug. She couldn't see the pink that highlighted Chrom's cheeks as he returned the hug in silence. Memories of her previous life as Chrom's wife came flooding back to her near instantly. She couldn't say one way or another if she was happy to remember them or saddened that they were no more. All she knew is the hug broke much sooner than she ever wanted it to.

"Ahem. We should...we shouldn't keep the others waiting." Chrom said when he pulled away from her. Robin merely nodded and followed behind her captain with a slight spring in her step.

…

"Northroad is just ahead." Fredrick reported to the other Shepherds. Everyone was moving at a steady pace towards the northern border, though Robin moved a few paces behind the others, her lack of sleep catching up to her in the midday sun. To keep her head off of sleep, she decided to run another head count to make sure everyone was along as they were supposed to be. Of course everyone from before was marching along with a new member whom added himself at the very last minute thanks to Vaike. Of course, he never forgets. He just doesn't always remember.

Stahl was Stahl. He was unremarkable when Robin saw him last time and he's unremarkable now. He's a nice guy, but he's horribly boring. But he was reliable and sturdy. Like an iron sword of sorts.

Robin was quickly torn out of her thoughts however as Chrom let loose a frustrated grunt. "Gods, have the risen spread this far?"

"Risen?" Robin asked. Sure enough, Northroad was alive with a small platoon of Risen soldiers. Mixed classes consisting mostly of soldiers and fighters.

"We needed a name for this new threat, so the council gave them one." Fredrick informed her.

"Everyone, remember what we're up against!" Chrom spoke in a commanding tone.

"Yes. Remember that they're not any harder to defeat than an average person. So...effectively this is just another skirmish." Robin said.

"Ha ha! They'll have to remember ME once I drive my axe into their- huh? Wait, where's my axe?" Vaike said, looking for his axe that was indeed missing.

"Oh for the love of Naga, you cannot be serious right now!" Robin said, tugging at her hair while Chrom shot Vaike a glare.

"Vaike, this isn't the time for jokes!" Chrom exclaimed.

"It's not a joke! I JUST had it. It has to be around here somewhere!" Vaike said, sounding as close to distressed as Robin had ever heard him.

"Then stick to the rear. The battle is nigh!" Chrom said as he drew Falchion from its sheath. "Shepherds, move out!"

Robin sighed and pulled her tome out. She watched the map carefully once she was certain no one was looking too close at her. Once she was satisfied, she looked out towards the battlefield again. "Alright. Chrom, you should go attack that fighter on the hill that way. Sully, you and Stahl will double team that mercenary over there. Fredrick, lure that soldier out and Lissa...um...you...try not to get hit."

"Right." Lissa said as she grasped her heal staff. With a clap of her hands, everyone dispersed to enact Robin's plan which worked out quite well, she had to admit. Together, Sully and Stahl nearly took down the mercenary risen while Fredrick acted as bait with his bronze sword for the soldier that did little more than scratch his armor. Chrom meanwhile takes a heavy counter hit from the fighter against good odds, so the fight was shaping up as usual for them. Robin took a step towards Chrom to back him up when a flowery voice stopped her.

"Wait, milady! You have not given orders to me, the archest of archers yet." Virion said.

"I...thought your orders would have been obvious. But since I guess it's not, what want you to do is stick to the rear and shoot people with arrows." Robin said, her arms crossed.

"Aha, but of course. Tis the only way to use an archer. But, perhaps you would like to give me more direction than that." He said. Robin just pinched the bridge of her nose and let loose a quiet sigh. She then pointed to Sully and Stahl.

"Him. Shoot him. Shoot the damn risen that's in bleeding pain right now."

"Yes my lady! Watch me closely now." Virion said. He walked over to the two cavaliers and notched an arrow. Robin raised her eyebrow as Virion pulled back on his bowstring and let the arrow fly. And hits nothing as the Risen nimbly jumps out of the way.

"Gods, what am I even paying you for?"She asked incredulously.

"Eh...my apologies. I'll do better next time. But you do not pay me." Virion protested to Robin.

"Well maybe there's a reason for that. Enjoy that sword in your face." Robin said. Virion didn't understand at first, but her words quickly became clear as the mercenary risen closed the distance between them and gave Virion a good whack with its sword. Virion being early Virion of course needed to be healed immediately.

With that bit of lunacy done with, she finally joins behind Chrom to finish off the wounded fighter he was fighting. The lightning ball exploded into the creature and sent it spinning in an overly dramatic fashion before it hit the ground with a thud. Robin smirked, feeling like her aim was getting a bit better.

But before Robin could celebrate too much, she felt the searing pain of a blade slice into her side. She let out a pained yelp and jerked away from the mercenary that managed to sneak up on her. She narrowed her eyes and flung her spell at it. And it almost danced as it hopped away from the lightning ball.

"Perhaps you should-"

"Shut up Fredrick. Just. Shut. Up." Robin was in no mood for his quips. Thankfully Chrom was still nearby and ambushed the mercenary from the side. His blade struck true and hit the risen in the head. It jerked back with what Robin could only imagine was pain.

Robin looked back towards Sully and Stahl. The fighter risen had arrived to them and went straight for Sully, unsurprisingly. It launched itself at her but then the strangest thing happened. Time seemed to stop for them. Literally. The Risen stuck in mid swing, about to hit Sully when Stahl very slowly trotted his horse to Sully's side. A good two seconds went by before Stahl made it to her and pushed Sully and her horse out of the way. He then put up his sword and the risen's swing finally continues, only to clash uselessly with a sword. Robin was flabbergasted.

"What the hell was that?" She asked.

"What was what?" Chrom asked, a curious frown on his face.

"Sully and Stahl, didn't you see?"

"Ah, yeah. Stahl covered her. He's a good man, isn't he?" Chrom said with a nod. But Robin shook her head.

"No...no I mean. Time. Didn't you see time stop and the risen? I..."

"Robin, are you sure you're okay?" Chrom asked. Robin could only stare at him, not believing for a second he didn't see that. He had to be screwing with her. This was not a trick from a lack of sleep.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm fine." She said. She shook her head and rubbed her temples. Her mind quickly snapped back into reality as an enemy soldier engaged Chrom. Robin gasped as the risen leaped into the air with its lance pointed straight to Chrom's chest. And then it didn't move. It just...hung there motionless. Chrom also stared vacantly into space, his cape billowing in the wind but his body completely still otherwise.

"Chrom?" Robin asked. She got no response. She looked about the battlefield. Nothing changed at all. Sully and Stahl were fighting as normal. This area just...stopped. "Uh...okay..." Robin said, confused and a bit scared. She walked over to Chrom and gently moved him out of the way of the attack. She then held up the only weapon she had, her thunder tome. And all at once, life came roaring back to normal as the Risen finishes its attack. The lance head stabs at the book and amazingly doesn't go straight through. Or even scratch it.

"Thanks Robin! You're a life saver!" Chrom thanked her before getting into a fierce stare with the Risen and drawing his blade back. "I will not fail!" He bellowed out before jumping into the air himself. Unfortunately for the risen, there was nothing to get in the way for him and it was bisected down the middle.

"You didn't...you didn't notice any of that?" Robin asked. Chrom just shook his head however.

"Not sure what you're talking about Robin. You leaped in the way to protect me. That's all I know. And I thank you for it." Chrom said, patting her back. Robin looked at him like he was crazy. All that hesitation and the time freezing. He wasn't aware of any of it.

"Alright...guess that's just a thing that can happen then..." Robin said to herself.

As the battle drew on, a new figure emerged from the south. A mage with short red hair and a pair of glasses. Robin recognized her immediately as the Shepherd's resident smart chick, Miriel. Robin didn't honestly know a whole lot about her, but she digged the hat.

"Splendid! It seems I've caught up. Now to extirpate these brutes... Hmm? Is that an axe? Why yes it is... Perhaps someone mislaid it? I'd not thought such dereliction permissible among the Shepherds. Still, I'd be remiss to not return this implement to its owner. Perhaps along with a stern word or two of disapprobation!" She also used lots of big words all the time.

"Hey! My axe!" Vaike shouted as he ran towards Miriel.

"I had wondered what manner of ignoramus would mislay their weapon. Now I know." Miriel said with her usual tone of cold disdain in her voice.

"Thanks, Miriel! Er...for the axe anyways." Vaike said, taking the steel axe from the scrawny woman.

"Perhaps next time I'll use a spell to fasten it to your hand. Permanently." Mirel spoke, giving Vaike a serious glare.

"Hey! That's what Robin keeps threatening to do to Fredrick." Lissa piped in. Miriel tipped her glasses down over the bridge of her nose at the energetic healer.

"Robin knows such a spell? Fascinating. I did not take her for quite a stout practitioner of the arcane arts. I will have to speak with her at length of her knowledge." Miriel said, looking towards Robin as she attempted to blast the risen with her magic once again and missed once again. She then let out a growl that could be heard across the battlefield and settled with kicking the risen in the face.

"On second thought, perhaps she's not as attuned as I had initially speculated."

Chrom was quick to finish off the mercenary as it reeled from the now broken nose it had from Robin's attack while Vaike ran in to take care of the fighter with a mighty blow from his axe.

With the first wave finished, the small militia gathers together to prepare to cross the river to the last of the Risen. Lissa heals up any scratches accumulated during the first part of battle.

"Alright Robin, guide our swords." Chrom said while Vaike stepped forward.

"And my axe." He said before being pulled back into the group.

"A word of caution, milord. We've been working Robin quite hard lately. Why, she's so tired she can't even-"

"Fredrick? If this is another joke about my hit percentage, I am going to be furious." She said in a calm voice that belies the burning hatred she had brewing in her gut at the moment. "Go ahead. See what happens."

Fredrick cleared his throat and looked back towards the Risen. He appeared just a little shaken at that remark, but held himself well. "As I was saying, we've been working Robin quite hard. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea for some of us to make our own decisions from time to time."

"Hm. Perhaps you're right, Fredrick. Robin, should you ever need to rest, you need only to tell us and we shall make our own decisions for the battle." Chrom said. Robin frowned a bit and nodded.

"Alright. I trust your judgement. Well...most of you, anyways." She said. "But, I see no reason to change tactics right now." She pointed down the river towards a larger, more imposing Risen standing at the far end of the river bank. "That must be the chief. If we can take him out then picking off the underlings should be easy enough. So here's the plan. Vaike, you go in there and draw out the two Risen closest to the bridge. Then we'll hit them fast and hard.

"After that, I'll need you to lure that chief out, Fredrick. Me and Miriel will stick to the back while the rest of you push forward and take out everything you see." Robin said, clapping her hands. "We good?"

"A sound plan, through and through." Fredrick said. Vaike chuckled and flexed his arms to Robin.

"You just leave everything to teach. He won't let you down." He said.

"Again, you mean." She snapped at him.

"Heh heh. That was a mistake. The Vaike never forgets. He just doesn't-"

"Think. Now go sponge up those hits, oaf." Robin ordered before shoving him onto the bridge.

"Now you just sound like Maribelle." Vaike grumbled. So Vaike went up the bridge and took on two Risen at once. He took a couple hits, but nothing too major and he dealt back as good as he took. Robin and Miriel both launch a magic assault onto the unsuspecting Risen, frying them rather easily while Chrom and Sully took what remained of them.

Fredrick was next, laughing as several risen charged him to plink against his defenses while he delivered bronze justice on them all, harming them but not killing them exactly. The chief even charged down from his spot and attempted throw his hand axe at Fredrick. He missed of course. Fredrick then attacked him and brought the chief down to killable levels which Chrom happily took. Virion even tried to help and barely managed to kill one of the risen. The final push onto the river banks was brutal towards the risen as they all fell easily to their blades and magic.

And before they knew it, the battlefield was quiet once again with nothing but the ash of risen corpses to show for it. "Good work everyone. But if the risen have spread all the way to Northroad..." Chrom pondered.

"Then no road is safe from them." Fredrick finished for him. Robin sighed in response. Their dealings with risen has probably only just begun.


	4. Chapter 4

"Well what do we have here?" Robin inquired to herself. The battle of Northroad was long behind the Shepherds by now and they were little more than a day from the Feroxi border. Already the temperature had started to dip to the point that each word Robin spoke was accentuated with a wispy fog from her lips. All that stood between the Shepherds and a smooth march to Ferox was a majestic looking white horse standing in the middle of the field and grazing on some grass until it noticed the intruders. The horse rears back, glorious white wings spreading out and shimmering with dew as it stamped its hoof and snorted at them. It was easy to see an angry red sore sticking out through its pure white coat on one of its forelegs.

"No doubt that's a pegasus. I think it might be hurt." Chrom spoke frankly and walked over to the pegasus which snorted furiously at him and trotted forward to try and ram him with its head. Chrom was quick to back off, narrowing avoiding the headbutt. "WHOA! Easy girl..." Chrom said, holding his hands out innocently.

"Approaching an injured animal without warning may not be the most intelligent way to go about this situation." Robin said, a hand placed on her hip as another stroked her chin. "But we can't just leave it out here."

"If I may, captain." A pleasantly chirpy voice said through the small crowd. Sumia jogged her way through the Shepherds, stopping only when gravity played its cruel game with her and her face met the ground. She got up as quickly as she dropped and dusted herself off, her cheeks as red as the sore on the pegasus.

"Are you alright, Sumia? Is it those boots again?" Chrom asked as he walked over to her and helped straighten her shoulder pads. Robin rolled her eyes a bit, casting her gaze in another direction. Was it so much to ask for competency within the Shepherds?

"No! I mean, yes! I mean..." Her sigh quickly followed her usual response to Chrom's question. Really, Robin wondered if Chrom made that justification up just to make her feel better or if he really believed her new boots caused her to trip every five steps. She'd believe either one, really.

"Well, you should stay back. This beast is crazed!" Chrom said, holding her shoulders while the Pegasus had resumed its grazing now that everyone was a respectable distance away.

"Yeah, really looks like she'll fly off the handle any moment." Robin japed, a light smile played at her lips while Chrom shot her an annoyed glare.

"Don't worry captain, I got this." Sumia said confidently. She broke away from Chrom and approached the pegasus. The pegasus let out a snort and stepped back from her while Sumia merely holds her hands up, her feet taking calm, easy steps. "It's okay." She spoke softly. The pegasus whinnied in response to her and trotted a few steps towards her. Chrom put his hand on Falchion instinctively, ready to charge in and beat the pegasus away if it looked ready to attack. But to his surprise, the pegasus did nothing of the sort and merely held her head out to allow Sumia to pet her. Sumia giggled and patted the pegasus on the head gently.

"Wow, that was amazing!" Lissa was quick to gush. Even Robin had to give credit to Sumia, being able to calm a wild Pegasus so quickly. Not that she'd ever say so.

"Oh this is nothing. I've always had a way with animals." Sumia responded humbly. "I don't know what it is, but they've always been calm around me."

"Maybe they know you can't run from them without tripping on your own feet." Robin said with a smirk on her face. The Pegasus snorted and broke apart from Sumia for a moment. It galloped across the field to Robin and let out an aggressive neigh at her. Robin screamed, taken aback by the sudden aggression and fell backwards onto her rump. Sumia merely giggled and gave the pegasus a loving pat on the head when it returned to her.

"Good girl." She said simply while Robin got back to her feet with a huff. "You all go on ahead. I'll dress her wounds and meet up with you again." Chrom still seemed hesitant however.

"We can make time for you." He said, but Sumia shook her head.

"Every moment you wait is another moment Ylisse is in danger. I won't be the cause of anything awful happening to this country." Chrom sighed at her and nodded grudgingly.

"Alright Sumia. If anyone knows what they're doing here, it's you. I leave this to you. Stay safe." Chrom said as he gave the signal for the Shepherds to move out.

"Mm. You as well. Captain." She said, a smile twinkling her eyes. Chrom gasped silently as he stared back at her for a moment before being forcibly pulled away at the arm by Robin.

"Alright, time's a wasting!" Robin said quickly. She stumbled a bit as the pegasus snorts once more at her and she cast a wary glance back at the pegasus.

…

Night fell upon the group quicker than they anticipated. Robin had hoped to get to Ferox before then, but the battle with those Risen took more time than she would have liked it to. They set up camp in the middle of a clearing, now contending with the bitter northern winds and at least an inch of freshly fallen snow blanketing the clearing in a large white expanse.

There was no shortage of complaints about the freezing cold, most of them coming from the group's resident princess whom sat shaking like a leaf around the fire. She cast an envious glare at Vaike as he noisily chewed on a chicken leg, his chest still as bare as it always has been. "H-H-How the heck do y-y-you do it Vaike?" She asked. Vaike swallows his food before letting out an unceremonious belch.

"What do you mean?" He asked. Lissa noticeably moved away from him and huddled up a bit more.

"It's f-f-freezing out here a-and you're not w-wearing a s-shirt." Her words stumbled from her numb lips. Vaike just let let out his signature laugh and pointed the half eaten chicken bone at his chest.

"My secret? I haven't worn a shirt for ten years! Cold is just another challenge that I have to face. And I beat its sorry arse all the way to the ice age! Once you embrace it, it doesn't feel so cold anymore. Maybe you should try it." He explained.

"W-What? Embracing the cold or not wearing a shirt? Be-Because both s-s-sound stupid." Lissa asked spitefully.

"Maybe you should try both." Vaike said, grinning broadly before a rather cold gauntlet hits him upside the head. "Hey! What was that for!?"

"It's not proper to speak to your princess in such a manner." Fredrick said simply while he took a nibble of his chicken.

"Ah please. She asked and I gave her an answer." Vaike said. "It's how the Vaike did it! It's how she could do it too!"

"It's been theorized," Miriel piped up suddenly as she discarded her food scraps. "That people whom possess low intelligence make up for it in other ways. Usually brute strength, or an usual tolerance to things unpleasant to a normal person."

"Heh, yeah! Wait, what?" Vaike asked.

"She means you're too stupid to feel cold." Robin said with a smirk at him.

"Bah! It works for me." Vaike said, a vein popping out of his temple. "You can all make your jokes, but the Vaike is smarter than he looks." And with that, he got up and started moving away from the fire.

"Your axe, Vaike." Fredrick called out, noting the steel axe sitting beside where Vaike used to be.

"I meant to do that." Vaike said as he grabbed his axe and hefted it into his shoulder. Lissa huffed suddenly, none of these shenanigans fixing her cold problem.

"Where's Chrom?" She asked, noting that she hadn't seen him show up for dinner.

"He said he would eat later. He seemed preoccupied with something else so I didn't find it necessary to speak to him about it." Fredrick spoke quietly. Lissa nodded as well, a sigh escaping her lips.

"He's probably thinking about Emm. And Sumia too." She said.

"I'm sure Sumia's just fine. She has plenty of supplies to take care of herself for the night." Robin said, her arms crossed over her chest. "I...can't speak for Emm though." Robin spoke, her voice going quieter suddenly. That night was on its way, wasn't it? And much sooner than she'd like it to be. Robin frowned, casting her eyes up to the group when she noticed they had all gone quiet and found them all staring at her. "What?"

"You just called her Emm." Lissa said. Robin blushed, mentally slapping herself for her slip up and groping her brain for an out.

"U-uh...well uh...I just hear you and Chrom refer to her as such...it just kind of...stuck with me." She explained. Fredrick's eyes turned suspicious on her and he straightened up, as if putting himself on guard.

"Mistake or no, it is very improper for an outsider like you to refer to the Exalt in that manner. Whether she be in our presence or not." He said. Robin looked away from him and nodded.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I meant no disrespect to her."

"Aw come on Fredrick, cut her some slack. I think it's sweet of her to call her like that. It makes it seem like Robin's like family. Besides, after everything we've been through, can we really call her an outsider?" Lissa said, a dainty smile gracing her face. Fredrick harrumphed in response, but said nothing more on the matter. Robin merely toyed with her bangs, her eyes falling away from Lissa's. "Aw, and now she's embarrassed!" Lissa cooed and clapped her hands together while Robin sprung up from her seat.

"I-I am not!" She cried, her teeth gritting. "Ugh, I'm leaving. You're all tiring." Lissa merely grinned at Robin the whole way until she was out of sight before giggling.

"You know Lissa, it seems you've stopped shivering." Fredrick pointed out suddenly. Lissa frowned and nodded to herself.

"Hey, you're right. It's like I can't even feel the cold right now!" She chirped before her face went dark and she shivered for a completely different reason. "Oh Gods, I'm turning into Vaike."

…

The night dragged on slower than a knight in rusted armor for Chrom. His mind darting with a thousand different things with none of them settling down long enough for him to focus. Everything from the Plegian barbarians, the Risen, Robin, Emmeryn's safety, Robin...he sighed and shook his head especially fiercely when she came to his mind. Somehow despite the turbulent thoughts swirling around in his head, she somehow managed to trump them all. Something about her just drew all his thoughts to her. And he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

She was like no woman he'd ever seen before. Almost nothing like a woman, in fact. He sighed and rolled over in his cot. Maybe some cold night air would get her out of his head for a while. Long enough for him to focus and maybe eat something. He grabbed his cape which hung on the wall of his tent and placed Falchion at his side, just in case he needed it. With a deep breath, he braced himself at his tent flaps and burst out of it, closing his eyes as the bitterly cold wind whipped at his face. He held his arms out, letting the numbing feeling overtake him.

Already he could feel it working. His mind was numbing.

"Chrom?"

He thought of nothing at all and just focused on the cold.

"Chroom?"

There were no thoughts in his head. And he definitely didn't hear Robin calling his name right now. Definitely not.

"By the gods, don't tell me you've gone batty."

And the exercise was ruined. Chrom let out a heavy sigh and opened his eyes to find the silver haired maiden looking right up at him, a frown upon her strangely perky lips. "You with us?" She asked. He could instantly feel his face warm somehow despite the chilling air.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" He said simply, playing off that he must of looked like a fool standing out in the open like that.

"Because I was worried you were about to strip your shirt off your back." She said, looking a touch concerned and relieved at the same time. Chrom frowned at her however and she waved her hands. "Long story."

"Anyways...you about to call it a night?" He asked. Robin nodded and took a few steps back from him.

"Yeah. You wanna walk with me a bit? Maybe discuss our move once we get within the Feroxi border?" She asked. Chrom could feel his heart thump strangely at the thought of walking alone with her. He shook his head at her slowly and she frowned, a touch disheartened. "Oh...I see. Well, good night anyways." She said as she turned away.

"Wait! I didn't mean no, I meant...uh...sure. I was heading for a walk anyways. May as well walk with you, right? But uh...I was thinking that maybe we could just talk about other things. You've been working so hard lately." He asked. Robin frowned a tad but nodded all the same.

"Alright. Well come on then." She said. "It has been a pretty tough couple of days, hasn't it?"

"Mm. And you need to keep your mind well rested so you're ready for anything. Never know when another battle will break out." Chrom agreed. Robin nodded, a small smile spreading over her lips.

"So I've noticed." She said. "We've hardly gotten a chance to sit down and rest. I think this might be the longest we've spent idle. A shame it had to be in this god forsaken wasteland." Chrom nodded in agreement, keeping his eyes locked forward as they walked and not daring to peek at Robin. Which only served to worry her a bit. "You alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine!" He replied a bit louder than he wanted to. Robin gave him a quizzical look but nodded all the same.

"If you say so." She said. Chrom sighed, relaxing himself once again and taking deep breaths.

 _Come on Chrom. It's just Robin. Of all the girls you've talked to, she should be the easiest._ He thought and steeled himself up for more conversation. "The road is tough, and it's only going to get harder, you know. You're still fairly new to this whole business, but you've acclimated quite well." Robin giggled softly at that and Chrom felt his heart twinge. He's never heard such a giggle from her before.

"I know, I know. You don't need to worry about me." She said, playfully patting his arm. "I rest whenever I get the chance to. A lady does need her beauty sleep after all."

"Er..." Chrom stopped, almost feeling his heart leap into his throat. Robin stopped walking and frowned at him.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" She asked. Chrom blushed and turned away from her.

"Uh...no...uh..." He stuttered. _Alright Chrom. Just play it off. Don't let her know that caught you._ "No, you didn't say anything wrong. It's just...I've never really thought of you as a uh...lady per se." He said. He grunted as he cast a glance at her and immediately noticed her giving him the same look she gave Fredrick. Instinctively he took his hand off Falchion. As much as he treasured his sword, he didn't want it permanently stuck to his hand. "Uh...I mean, it's just that you can fight and...you do strategy and...not that ladies can't do that as well but...um...Gods this sounded way better in my head."

"Oh no, keep talking." Robin said, her arms crossed. "Didn't you ever learn manners?"

"Yes. Gods yes. There were whole courses on etiquette. I never thought eating could be so tedious." Chrom mumbled. He stepped back when she suddenly reached into her cloak.

"And in all those courses, they never taught you how to speak to a lady?"

"In my defense!" Chrom spoke quickly and loudly. "You...you just don't fit the average mold of a lady. You're not what I envision when I envision lady. To me, a lady is someone who's proper and upstanding and elegant, and- why do you have that tome?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Please, keep going." Robin said, her voice barely containing a deep, burning anger as she calmly flipped through her thunder tome. Chrom stood there for a few moments before he extended his arms out and mocked a yawn.

"Well it's getting pretty late. I think I should be going. Sleep tight. Don't let the Risen bite." He said before beating a hasty retreat back to his tent.

"Coward!" He heard Robin call after him, but he was far beyond caring how this looked. He was just lucky to have escaped with his life. He dashed into his tent and closed the flaps so fast he almost ripped the canvas. He groaned and collapsed onto his cot. Somehow, Robin was even more ingrained into his mind after that.

…

The march the rest of the way to the border was oddly quiet between Chrom and Robin. Chrom looked ready to dive off the highest thing he could find every time he looked at her. Robin wanted nothing to do with him at the moment. Future or no, she's never been spoken to so rudely in her life. That was far from the charming Chrom whom wound up sweeping her off her feet in the last...timeline, she supposed. She huffed, thoroughly annoyed. Why was everything so much more screwed up here?

Before long, the Shepherds made their way from a forest and out into a clearing blocked by a massive stone fortress crawling with soldiers all marching along the roof. Fredrick rode ahead to Chrom, yielding his horse beside him. "Any word on Sumia?" Chrom asked.

"No. I suspect she will join us shortly, however we don't have the time to wait on her." He said simply. Chrom nodded, steeling himself up and looking back to the fort.

"So this is the longfort."

"Regna Ferox's first line of defense from invasion." Fredrick said. "It'll be tough to take it, should things come to blows. The Feroxi people are fierce fighters, and the Kahns that rule these lands have grown wary of outsiders. But a lack of hospitality shouldn't be mistaken for open hostility." Fredrick explained. Chrom nodded.

"Negotiation's not my strong suit, but I'll do what I can. Everyone remember: your actions here reflect on all of Ylisse." He said, looking to Vaike especially whom was currently picking his teeth before he noticed Chrom's eyes on him.

"What?" He asked simply. Chrom shook his head and turned his attention back to the fort.

"Let's move."

Fredrick trotted forward, his eyes narrowed as he noticed the guards on the roof moving about in a rather peculiar way. "Looks like trouble milord. The Feroxi guard seems to be mobilizing."

"What!? Why?" Chrom snapped. The last thing they needed was a fight here on Feroxi land. Fredrick merely shook his head while Robin pulled her special tome from her robes to glance ahead. She narrowed her eyes, noting a battle would soon take place.

"Damn." She hissed quietly before discreetly putting her tome back into her robes. Though she managed to avoid most eyes from noticing her, one certain nosy princess couldn't help but frown at her. It wasn't the first time she's seen Robin look at that tome before.

"We'd best prepare for battle, just to be safe. They look ready to let loose at a moment's notice." Fredrick spoke up, snapping everyone back to the present. "Perhaps we should ready our supplies and choose which shepherds to deploy. Loathe as I am to say it, Robin may have some valuable insight into this." Fredrick explained. Robin merely scoffed at him, her arms crossed.

"Glad to know you trust me after all this." She said with a cold edge in her voice. Chrom stepped between them both with a commanding air about him.

"Hey, we'll worry about that all later. For now, what are your orders, Robin?"

…

It certainly didn't take long for Robin to choose who to use in this fight. Her strategy was clear enough to her. The long fort was difficult to take alone, but focusing everyone on one side of it should allow them to breach its walls easily. With her decisions made, Chrom marches everyone forward only to be met by the enemy commander at the top of the fort. A blonde female knight with short hair and sharp looking eyes glared down at them all.

"Halt! Who goes there!?" She called out to them.

"I represent the house of Ylisse! I wish for an audience with the Khans!" Chrom called up at her. He stepped forward only to be stopped by the woman's bellow.

"Not a step further, brave lad! I've lancers at the ready!"

"Hold milady! We're not enemies! Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us here to discuss matters of mutual interest!" Fredrick called up at her. The woman merely scoffed at him however.

"The Exalt, huh? I don't suppose you have some sort of proof of her good intentions?" She asked. Fredrick merely looked down, almost mentally slapping himself as Robin rolled her eyes.

"Really? All of this and no one, not even Emmeryn thought to put any of this in writing?" She asked.

"It was a tense time. Besides, official papers such as those mean little to Ferox anyways." Fredrick said. "Still, probably couldn't have hurt to have it." Chrom stepped forward again, despite the woman's warnings.

"I am Chrom, prince of Ylisse? Will that do to prove my sister's good intentions?" He called out. Again the woman scoffed at him.

"Hah! And I'm the queen of Valm. You realize impersonating royalty is a capital offense, right? I have authority to kill you where you stand!" She shouted down at him. Chrom grunted and tried one last time to talk some sense into her.

"Please, is there nothing we can say to avoid conflict?" He asked. The woman crossed her arms and nodded.

"Let's settle this the Feroxi way. You claim to be the prince? Then prove it on the battlefield!" She called out as all her soldiers cheered. Robin frowned, her arms crossed as she looked up at them.

"How the heck does that prove anything? Let alone the legitimacy of his claims." She asked up to the guard.

"You can tell a lot about a man through the way he fights. If he's true, we'll see it." She said.

"So...instead of just coming down here and checking if he has the brand, something that's common knowledge that royalty of Ylisse has...and is freaking visible on his shoulder right now. You would rather throw your men at us and see which side kills more people?" Robin asked incredulously.

"That is correct."

"You're all morons." Robin huffed.

"I've heard enough. Attack!" The knight ordered before she stepped away from the roof.

The knights all got their javelins ready and without warning threw them before Chrom could react. He put his arms up in a feeble defense, waiting for the pain of getting skewered horribly by all the lances, but it never came. Instead he felt himself get pulled off the ground, a fierce wind whipped at him and the sound of wings flapped over his head as he was pulled up and onto something soft and solid.

He would hardly believe the sight if he didn't see it for himself right now. Sumia at the reigns of a pegasus, her soft brown hair whipped around wildly as she turned her head to give him a sly look. "Sumia?" He said, still not really certain he didn't just die back there.

"Better hold on tight, captain. It could get bumpy." She said. Chrom could do little more than nod feebly as he put an arm around her waist.

"Right..." He mumbled. He looked down and found the long fort looked much smaller than it used to with vague looking dots acting as people fighting on the grounds.

"You'll be fine." Sumia said confidently. Chrom nodded, snapping back into reality as he drew Falchion from its sheath.

"Sumia!" He called out. She nodded, as if she could read his mind and she dived back to the battlefield.

"Right!" They returned to the front of the fort with the others while the knights above just stared down at them all.

"Well shit, those were our last javelins." One of them said as he steps away from the roof dejectedly.

"I told you it was a stupid idea." Another said.

Chrom, meanwhile hopped off of Sumia's pegasus as she rose into a triumphant pose and whinnying excitedly. "Oh, I'm so glad I made it on time. Sorry for the long wait. I had to pick up a few things as you could see."

"Not a problem. The important part is that you're here. And this pegasus...it's the same beast from earlier?" Chrom asked, astonished to see what had to be a wild pegasus already tamed enough to be a mount.

"Oh she's a real sweetie. Once you get to know her." Sumia said, petting the pegasus on the head while something vaguely sounding like screams danced on the air.

"Well, thanks to you both then." Chrom said, adding to the petting. The pegasus merely snorts, shaking her head confidently. Lissa giggled at them all.

"How cute. I think the pegasus is blushing!"

"Not to step on your good time, but we have more important things to attend to." Fredrick spoke suddenly.

"They're coming for us now, Chrom." Robin agreed, eager to get the subject off of Sumia and her pegasus.

"Right. Looks like we're doing it the Feroxi way after all. Alright Robin, let's do this." Chrom said. Robin nodded as another howl came on the wind.

"Right. Then here's the plan, Chrom. You, Sully, Vaike, and Stahl are going to crash down the right side. Me and Sumia will sweep up whatever you can't kill right away. Sumia knows to stay away from archers, I assume." Robin adds with a glance towards Sumia.

"Of course. Every pegasus knight learns that on day one." She said, her arms crossed, thoroughly insulted.

"Right. Then in that case, Lissa stays close to one of us. Protect her from battle. And Fredrick will keep the enemies off our backs." Robin explained with a clap of her hands. "Everyone got it?" She asked. Everyone nodded and quickly got into position.

Sully and Stahl took up the lead, immediately ambushing an enemy soldier and double teaming him easily, leaving him a bloody mess on the ground. They formed up a sort of makeshift wall the other enemies would have to break through to get through them while Chrom moved forward to attack another soldier lingering around. He managed to get two good swings at him but ultimately met the business end of a lance. Robin quickly moved forward to finish the soldier off, hitting him in the face with a ball of lightning.

Robin frowned, another voice danced across her ears. She turned her head to look behind her, but she didn't see anything. "You with me, Robin?" Chrom asked, taking his eyes off the battle for a moment to follow her eyes.

"Yeah, I just...thought I heard something." She mumbled. "Come with me."

"Wait, we're breaking ranks?" Chrom asked, surprised when Robin grabbed his arm.

"This side is basically secured. They can't have a huge amount of soldiers behind that door. It's nothing Sully, Stahl, and Vaike can't handle." She explained.

"Robin? What are you doing back here?" Fredrick asked immediately. "It seems the other soldiers aren't moving from their post.

"I can see that." Robin answered. "Come with me." The voice she heard got vaguely louder, but she couldn't place a location to it.

"What the heck is that noise?" Chrom asked.

"So you hear it too. Good, I thought I might have been going crazy again." Robin said with a sigh of relief.

"Mm. More than that, I feel like I'm being watched." Chrom said as he took a quick survey of the area.

"An enemy we can't see. But where in the world is it?" Fredrick asked.

"Um...sir? Sir! I'm right here." The three of them quickly readied their weapons and moved to cover each others backs.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Chrom demanded.

"Uh...I'm standing in plain sight. Right he-" The mysterious voice was cut off as the three of them all screamed in shock and even some enemy soldiers looked over with surprise as it seemed a large tower of metal just materialized out of nowhere.

"Oh...oh...it's just you, Kellam." Chrom said, rubbing his head, thoroughly embarrassed that he managed to miss Kellam...again. "When did you arrive?"

"How in the hell did you do that?" Robin asked as her hand scratched at her head in confusion. She had no clue who this guy even was. She certainly didn't remember him from her other timeline.

"I got here the same time you did. I've been with you guys the whole time. I am still a Shepherd, right? It's a gracious honor and all and I would hate to lose it. Sometimes-"

"Of course Kellam. Sorry, you're just so darn quiet all the time." Chrom grunted.

"Quite an anomaly for one of your stature might I add. And even more so for a knight." Fredrick said.

"Ah, yeah. I've been told that I'm easy to miss." Kellam explained.

"It's a good thing we found you before the Feroxi did." Chrom said. "You should have come to me sooner. You could have been seriously hurt."

"Really? I've been sitting here and waving my hands trying to get your attention. No one noticed me, Feroxi or no." He said quietly.

"You sound almost disappointed."

"Well...it's nice to be noticed every once in a while, you know?" Kellam said simply. Chrom nodded in response and turned back to Robin.

"Well then. Now that that's settled, do you have any new orders?" He asked. Robin merely tapped her chin and paced about.

"Well, it would be bad to lose sight of Kellam again. So, maybe we should form a sort of buddy system. Pair up and watch each others backs."

"A sound idea." Fredrick agreed. "I shall watch over the prince with my life."

"Oh no, you're going to be watching Kellam. I'm taking Chrom with me. I have...plans for him." She said as she cast a glance in his direction. Chrom didn't meet her eyes however, a feeling this had something to do with last night sitting like a lump in his gut. "As for our strategy, there's been a change in plans. I think we have enough manpower here to take care of things here. So we may as well secure this side of the fort and meet up with the main force again in the middle. So Kellam and Fredrick, you two move forward and draw the attention out for us."

And so her plan went into action. Fredrick and Kellam moved into some trees for cover and successfully bait the small batallion at the base of the tower. They quickly move in, each of them plinking for nothing against Fredrick and Kellam's combined defenses. Chrom and Robin moved behind them. They sneak along the tree line and ambush one of the archers still too busy with Fredrick. Chrom launched forward and slashed the archer across the back while Robin finished him off with her thunder. The archer launched forward and sprawled across the air before he hit the ground.

"Thank you." Chrom said. Robin nodded but their celebration was short as an arrow came ripping through the air and hit Chrom in the shoulder. He let out a grunt of pain and jerked back while he held his arm. Robin narrowed her eyes at the archer in question and quickly held her tome up.

"Oh hell no!" Shouted as she felt a tremendous power flow through her casting. She held her hand out and flung a ball of lightning that nearly blew the archer's chest open with one shot. The archer flew through the air, the snow stained with flecks of blood from his massive wound. Robin then helped Chrom back to his feet and pulled the arrow from his shoulder.

"Thank you...again." He said. She simply smiled at him and walked over to the archer's corpse before grabbing a key from it.

"Of course. Now, shall we?" She asked as she pointed towards the long staircase leading up to the roof. Chrom nodded and moved beside her. The two of them took the lead...well, really it was Chrom while Robin stayed safely behind him. She had to admit, she got a morbid sense of satisfaction seeing Chrom hit with an arrow like that. Not enough to spare the archer's life, but after that business last night, a little torment was in order for him.

Chrom opened the door and was immediately met with a knight waiting on the other side for him. Chrom grunted and drew his rapier out. He wasn't able to dodge the lance however and took a solid hit from it. He retaliated by sinking that rapier right through the knight's armor. Chrom looked back to Robin expectantly, but she simply pretended to be reading her tome instead. Chrom grunted and lunged forward instead, delivering a finishing blow to the knight. Fredrick and Kellam made their way up the stairs behind them and lured out a nearby mercenary and a fighter.

The mercenary hardly even managed a scratch on Kellam's armor, but the knight did manage to score a solid blow against Kellam, his stealthy knight business apparently being over now. Chrom and Robin moved in to finish the fighter while Kellam stuck his lance through the mercenary for the last time. Before long, only the woman knight was left on the roof.

Despite her horrible odds, she didn't move from her spot. Robin and the others quickly reconvened together. Lissa was particularly shocked at the condition Chrom was in. "Where the heck did you guys go?" She demanded to know as she healed Chrom's wounds. "Hm? Kellam? Where did you come from?"

"I've been here the whole time." He answered quietly.

"We had to go get him." Robin explained to Lissa as she jerked her head towards Kellam. "I see your assault went well."

"It was child's play. None of these guys were any match for old teach!" Vaike said as he held a hammer up into the air. "Even got a new toy."

"Yeah. These Feroxis are a bunch of chumps for all their big talk." Sully added suddenly.

"And now all we have to do is beat the last of these chumps and we're in." Robin said while the female knight just growled at them all from her spot.

"I can hear you!" She called out.

"So what's the plan of attack here?" Chrom asked as he rolled his mended shoulder around a bit.

"Well...she has a javelin so she's not completely touched in the head. Magic's not the safest way to go. These robes don't do a whole lot against sharp pointy things. Vaike has an advantage though, as well as a hammer. I say we just send him in and have him clean house." Robin explained.

"Ha hah! Now this is a plan the Vaike can get behind!" He said as he brandished his hammer.

"Seems the rest of us are safe. I don't think she's going to move from that spot." Robin said.

"You wouldn't be so cocky if my feet weren't fused to this spot!" The woman shouted at her.

"Right, so let's get to it. We can all sit around and act as support if things go bad." Vaike grinned broadly and held his hammer up before he charged at the knight.

"I am Raimi! Let our battle sound out th-"

"Enter the Vaike!" Her words were quickly cut off as Vaike came sailing through the air and smashed her in the face with his hammer. Raimi cried out with pain and tried to retaliate with an attack of her own which Vaike simply dodged. Even Robin had to be impressed at the display Vaike was showing. It wasn't often he impressed her.

Raimi lunged again with her lance and Vaike wasn't able to get out of the way this time. He grunted with a lance wound to the chest which didn't penetrate too deep. He then jumped up and swung his hammer once again which Raimi dodged this time. Robin sighed and shook her head. At least it wasn't her this time. Vaike attacked again and this time went with a much less flashy overhead swing which finished Raimi off. She dropped to the ground, as defeated as she was going to be for now.

"Then...your claims were true..."

"Again I ask why you doubted me in the first place." Chrom said as he walked to her. She got up again, using her lance for support to get back to her feet.

"A thousand apologies. I truly mistook you for brigands." She said with a polite bow.

"Oh yeah, because I'm sure brigands travel like this and dress this nicely." Robin scoffed.

"Anyways." Raimi said harshly. "I will send word for you to arrive at the capital and an escort immediately."

"That would be more gracious." Chrom nodded. "Oh, and Raimi? Uh...sorry about your soldiers."

"Don't be. They're Feroxi men. They knew their lives would end on a battlefield and there are plenty more where they came from." She explained before she headed off into the fort.

"And now she's nice. Amazing how that works." Robin said.

"Strength speaks louder than words here in Ferox. I should have known they'd never listen to reason. Here's hoping the Khans are more open." Fredrick said. Lissa grunted and stamped her feet eagerly.

"Right, so can we get out of this blasted cold?" She asked. Chrom chuckled softly at her and nodded.

"Right. It's certainly not getting any warmer." He said as he gently pet her head.

 **[AN: Wow, this story updates slower than Warren is. There's a little old school Fire Emblem humor for you.]**


End file.
